Bronx Locals Split on Bally’s Casino Plan

Posted on: December 16, 2024, 07:00h. 

Last updated on: December 16, 2024, 01:00h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Residents of the Bronx, NY are divided over the prospects of a Bally’s casino hotel eventually calling their borough home.

Bally's Bronx
Bally’s Links in the Bronx, NY. Locals are divided over the plan to bring a casino hotel to the property. (Image: NY1)

Christopher Jewett, senior vice president of corporate development at the regional casino operator, recently told News 12 that many people in the Bronx are already engaging in some form of wagering and on that basis, it makes sense to keep those tax dollars local where the receipts can potentially be used for projects that benefit the community at large.

That’s a familiar argument when it comes to domestic gaming expansion, but not all members of the community concur. One Bronx resident told the media outlet a local casino would be a “destabilizing influence on a neighborhood.”

Conversely, some residents of the borough believe the Bally’s gaming venue could rejuvenate the local economy with the pledge of 3,500 new jobs. Job creation and increased tax revenue are competing with fears of harms caused by easy access to wagering, among others, in nearly all of the more than 10 downstate casino bids.

Bally’s Has More Hurdles to Clear in the Bronx

Bally’s paid the Trump Organization — the president –elect’s business empire — $60 million to acquire the lease on Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx. The course is now known as Bally Links, but the gaming company isn’t in the business of running golf courses.

Its core competency is managing casinos and that’s why it bought the lease on the golf course — to put a gaming venue on the property. As is the case with nearly all of the downstate casino bids, operators’ objectives are easier to vocalize than accomplish.

In the case of Bally’s, it needs politicians to sponsor legislation that would vacate the golf course’s parkland designation. Earlier this year, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto (D-The Bronx) represents the district that includes Ferry Point and he said he’s not proposing a bill to remove the parkland classification. Other lawmakers could sponsor bills to assist the gaming company.

Should that happen, it could pave the way for the gaming company to purchase the land on which the course resides and build a casino hotel on the land currently occupied by the clubhouse and the parking lot. It’s widely believed that any operator vying for one of the three New York City-area casino permits must have land use issues taken care prior to submittal of applications because state regulators are expected to view related hang-ups in an unfavorable light.

Assessing Bally’s Bronx Casino Odds

To date, no progress has been made on opening the bidding window for the three downstate licenses, indicating it’s hard to get a handle on which proposals could emerge victorious. It’s expected the process will be wrapped up by the end of next year, some experts believe it could lag into 2026.

Speculation has indicated that MGM Resorts International’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Resorts World New York in Queens are likely to win two of the three permits, but regulators haven’t commented on that matter.

Assuming that proves accurate, it implies just one license is up for grabs. Bottom line: the Bally’s bid is viable, but the competition is fierce.