{"id":13972,"date":"2025-09-26T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/?post_type=opinion&#038;p=13972"},"modified":"2025-09-25T22:05:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T03:05:13","slug":"in-new-yorks-casino-race-money-talks-but-politics-decides","status":"publish","type":"opinion","link":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/opinion\/in-new-yorks-casino-race-money-talks-but-politics-decides\/","title":{"rendered":"In New York\u2019s casino race, money talks but politics decides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The scramble for three downstate casino licenses in New York has revealed a truth that Wall Street spreadsheets rarely capture: <strong>not every billion-dollar bid can buy community trust or political power<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consider <strong>Bally\u2019s Corp.<\/strong> The operator is juggling massive investments, from a $1.7 billion resort in Chicago to plans for redeveloping the Tropicana Las Vegas site around a $2 billion baseball stadium for the Oakland A\u2019s. In New York, Bally\u2019s has put forward a bold $4 billion vision for the Bronx. On paper, the project looks impressive: a 500,000-square-foot resort, a 500-room hotel, an events center, and convention space. Yet despite the financial muscle, Bally\u2019s has struggled to gain traction. A zoning rejection by the City Council nearly killed the plan before Mayor Eric Adams revived it with a controversial veto. The episode underscored how <strong>political alliances, not financial models, keep projects alive in New York<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/landing\/multigame-link\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1-300x102.png 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1-768x261.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same pattern has played out elsewhere. <strong>Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> partnered with SL Green Realty and Jay-Z\u2019s Roc Nation for a $5.4 billion Times Square proposal. It promised cultural synergy and glitzy economic benefits. But community boards and Broadway stakeholders balked, fearing damage to the theatre district. In mid-September, the Community Advisory Committee flatly rejected the plan. Billion-dollar branding couldn\u2019t overcome grassroots resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, the frontrunners \u2014 <strong>MGM\u2019s Empire City in Yonkers<\/strong> and <strong>Resorts World at Aqueduct in Queens<\/strong> \u2014 aren\u2019t necessarily the flashiest bids, but they come with something money can\u2019t buy overnight: long-standing political relationships, existing infrastructure, and established tax contributions. Both projects already employ thousands and have local officials touting the community benefits packages attached to their expansions. MGM\u2019s Yonkers deal, for example, includes a $100 million package earmarked for libraries, parks, and infrastructure. That kind of <strong>embedded political capital<\/strong> dwarfs glossy renderings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/landing\/multigame-link\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1-300x102.png 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1-768x261.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lesson is stark: New York\u2019s casino race is not a free-market contest where the deepest pockets automatically prevail. It is a political chess match in which influence, credibility, and local support weigh more than financial projections. Bally\u2019s may be at the plate swinging for the Bronx, but without the right political coalition, it risks striking out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, the city\u2019s licensing process is a reminder that casinos are not just business ventures. They are political projects, deeply tied to land use, community identity, and the power dynamics of City Hall. And in New York, <strong>it is politics \u2014 not money \u2014 that decides who wins the game<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bally\u2019s, Caesars, MGM, and Resorts World are competing for New York casino licenses, but community resistance proves money isn\u2019t enough. Political influence is shaping the winners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13973,"menu_order":13,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1458,57,1564],"class_list":["post-13972","opinion","type-opinion","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sin-categoria","tag-america","tag-casinos","tag-new-york","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>In New York\u2019s casino race, money talks but politics decides - Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bally\u2019s, Caesars, MGM, and Resorts World are competing for New York casino licenses, but community resistance proves money isn\u2019t enough. 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