Bally’s $4 Billion Bronx Casino Bid Wins CAC Approval

• Advisory committee approves controversial Bronx casino plan
• It moves on to Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB) for consideration
• Could be uphill battle for battle for Bally’s due to property’s Trump ties

Bally’s plan to bring a $4 billion casino hotel to the Ferry Point golf course in the Bronx, NY, was approved by a community advisory committee (CAC), meaning the proposal advances in the competition to land three downstate casino permits.

The project dubbed Bally’s Bronx at Ferry Point was in jeopardy in July after the New York City Council voted 29-9 to reject a land-use application needed to rezone the land on which the regional casino operator is hoping to build the gaming venue. That property is classified as parkland, and under New York law, that status must be altered through legislative means before the real estate can be developed for commercial purposes.

Mayor Eric Adams saved the bid by vetoing the council’s vote. In a case of scheduling coincidence, the CAC vote on the Bally’s project arrived a day after Adams dropped out of the mayoral contest. Adams, a Democrat, was running as an independent and was badly lagging Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist.

Bronx Casino Plan Far From Sure Thing

Bally’s joins MGM Resorts International’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Genting’s Resorts World New York in Queens in advancing beyond the CAC process, but that doesn’t assure any of those proposals of procuring one of the downstate permits.

Those bids and any others approved by CACs go on to the New York Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB), which will ultimately decide on the three winners. That’s expected to happen before the end of this year, though the decision could drag into 2026.

Bally’s Bronx at Ferry Point is a potentially controversial case because the gaming company paid the Trump Organization $60 million for the remainder of its lease there. That agreement includes a stipulation whereby if Bally’s wins one of the downstate licenses, another payment of $115 million is due to President Trump’s company.

The president isn’t popular in his native state, and the possibility of further enriching him by granting Bally’s a casino permit may be on the minds of regulators, thus making the Bronx proposal a stretch. While local politicians have voiced displeasure with the Bronx casino bid, regulators haven’t overtly displayed preferences.

New York Casino Race Update

On Monday, a Brooklyn CAC will vote on the fate of The Coney. That’s a proposal by Global Gaming Solutions — the commercial entity of the Chickasaw Nation, Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings, and Legends to bring a gaming venue to Coney Island.

Even if The Coney wins CAC approval – Adams is a member of that committee — it’s considered a long shot to land one of the three downstate licenses.

On Tuesday, a CAC in Queens will vote on the $8 billion Metropolitan Park bid led by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International. Current speculation indicates that Empire City, Resorts World New York, and Metropolitan Park are the leaders in the New York City casino race.