New York panel endorses MGM’s racetrack slots operation to become a complete casino.

On Thursday, a New York community group suggested turning a racetrack slots operation in Yonkers, which is controlled by the same firm that operates the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, into a full-fledged casino resort.

Additionally, a vote for a comparable improvement was scheduled for Thursday afternoon at a second racetrack slots business in Queens.
The first proposal for a new casino in or close to New York City to move forward was MGM Resorts International’s plan to upgrade its slots facility at the Empire City Casino, which was supported by a community advisory committee.

Since many of Atlantic City’s patrons are from New York or the nearby suburbs, the state gaming regulators in New York state intend to choose up to three new casinos before the end of the year. This is seen as a significant threat to the city’s gambling industry.

A separate advisory panel will vote later Thursday on whether Malaysian gambling behemoth Genting’s Resorts World New York can expand similarly at Queens’ Aqueduct Racetrack.

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At 3 p.m. Eastern time, that hearing is scheduled to start.

Experts in the gambling sector have long believed that the two racetrack casinos that now operate have an advantage over their rivals since the additions could be constructed and opened considerably faster than starting from scratch.

MGM thanked everyone for the vote in a statement.

The pool of possible rivals to Atlantic City’s casinos was further narrowed on Monday when a community panel in New York City rejected the final plan to construct a casino in Manhattan.

“We are grateful to the Community Advisory Committee and our local community for demonstrating their continued support for Empire City Casino,” it stated. “Yonkers Raceway and Empire City have been a part of the City of Yonkers for almost a century. We’re excited to keep creating good-paying employment for the community’s citizens and giving the State of New York hundreds of millions of dollars in school money each year.

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