SNL Weekend Update Pokes Fun at New York City Casino Approval for the Bronx
Posted on: December 8, 2025, 01:23h.
Last updated on: December 8, 2025, 01:29h.
- SNL weighed in on the Bally’s Bronx casino
- “Weekend Update” anchor Michael Che says slot machines aren’t the only risky thing about the Bronx
“Saturday Night Live” didn’t miss an opportunity to take an easy jab at one of the three recently commissioned downstate New York casino projects.
On Saturday night, “SNL” Weekend Update host Michael Che brought New York’s awarding of three casino projects to the satirical news desk. While two casinos were backed for Queens, Che, who was born and raised in Manhattan, took issue with the lone gaming project endorsed for the Bronx.
Officials for the first time have approved building casinos in New York City, including one in the Bronx. Because, let’s be honest, every visit to the Bronx is a gamble,” Che said.
“Glad you said it,” followed up Che’s “SNL” co-anchor Colin Jost, a Staten Island native.
Is the Bronx Safe?
Che’s comments about the Bronx casino deal with the borough being notorious for crime.
The city’s northernmost borough, the Bronx, suffered from notoriously poor housing conditions and a steep population decline beginning in the late 1960s and continuing through the 1980s and 90s. Crime, gangs, and homelessness were rampant.
Since the turn of the century, things have improved a bit in the Bronx. So, is the Bronx still risky, as Che implies?
While the Bronx does have relatively safe areas, specifically, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Pelham Bay, and Morris Park, the Bronx remains the most dangerous of New York’s five boroughs.
According to the New York Police Department, six of the city’s top 10 most violent neighborhoods are in the Bronx. Only East Harlem in Manhattan has a higher violent crime rate than the six Bronx precincts.
In the Bronx’s Hunts Point/Longwood neighborhoods, the NYPD says there are 2,597 instances of violent crime per 100K people — among the highest violent crime rates in the nation.
Bally’s Bronx Casino
Che was referencing the New York Gaming Facility Location Board recommending that the New York State Gaming Commission grant Bally’s Bronx a casino license. The facility citing board rendered its three endorsements on December 1. The state gaming regulator is expected to formally issue the three downstate New York gaming permits by the end of the year.
Once viewed as a long shot, Bally’s Bronx’s odds improved greatly after Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts, and MGM Resorts pulled their New York applications, and four bids were denied via Community Advisory Committees.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) singlehandedly saved the Bally’s bid at Ferry Point Park, vetoing a City Council decision not to approve a land-use application to allow a commercial development on the city-owned land. Bally’s ended up being one of only three qualified bids, with the location board possessing three casino permits to award.
Bally’s has proposed a $4 billion investment at the Bally’s Golf Links site that includes 3,500 slot machines, 250 table games, and a sportsbook. The resort to accompany the city-owned golf course is to feature 500 hotel rooms, a 2,000-person event center, parking for nearly 5K vehicles, and 4K permanent jobs.
The Trump Organization stands to be an immediate winner with Bally’s Bronx. When the president’s family-held company sold the golf lease rights to Bally’s in late 2023 for $60 million, the terms included a condition that the fee would increase by $115 million should Bally’s someday operate a casino on the property.
No comments yet