Although it hopes to upgrade from video lottery terminals (VLTs) to full-fledged slot machines in the near future, MGM Empire City in Yonkers, New York, is also refreshing its status quo. The racino announced the replacement of hundreds of VLTs with 1,000 new machines. This represents 20 percent of the Empire City gaming floor, the largest in the MGM Resorts International empire.
Empire City credited the upgrade to the New York State Gaming Association, which recently widened the number of vendors allowed to sell VLTs in New York. The beneficiaries include Alfastreet, Aristocrat Gaming, and Konami. For the revamped floor, Empire City chose such games as Konami’s Ba Fang Jin Bao and Aristocrat’s Mighty Cash Double Up. Light & Wonder also got in on the action, introducing Dancing Drums and 88 Fortunes Money Coins to the Five Boroughs area.
MGM is presently hoping to upgrade Empire City from VLTs and electronic table games to slots, live-dealer table games, and a sports book, pending approval by the administration of Governor Kathy Hochul. So far, only a request for questions has gone out to would-be Class III operators in the New York City area, as the application process has moved slowly to this point. (MGM has owned the Yonkers racino since 2019.)
As for the new games, they were selected by property Executive Director of Slot Operations Ryan Monroe. His goal was to remove games that were underperforming and/or outdated. According to MGM, “Munroe follows many industry reports and analyses to help inform which games will likely be most enjoyed by Empire City patrons.”
Monroe said, “In my 15 years working at Empire City, I can’t remember a time when we’ve had so many new games hit the gaming floor over a relatively short time period. MGM Resorts continues to make the necessary investments to ensure a top-tier experience for our guests. Empire City also has some of the highest payouts in the industry, which means that more of the money played at Empire City is returned as payouts to our guests.”
Exclusive to Empire City are a trio of progressive jackpots, led by Bally Technologies’ Celestial King, nearing the $600,000 mark as of this writing. The racino also offers Bally’s Monopoly Millionaire (currently at $500,000-plus) and International Game Technology’s Wheel of Fortune Triple Stars, which is nearing the half-million-dollar threshold.
