Yonkers Raceway - Empire Casino Opens

NEW YORK -- As reported by the Journal News: "It may not be Las Vegas on the Hudson, but gamblers with an urge to test their luck today will get their first chance to hit the only casino merely
The slots at Empire City are ready for action.  minutes from the New York City border.

"Yonkers Raceway reopened at last week after a 15-month hiatus, with the sounds of some 1,870 video lottery machines - electronic games modeled after traditional casino fare, such as slots and poker - filling the once moribund, 107-year-old track's clubhouse.

"Empire City Gaming at Yonkers Raceway, as the reborn facility is called, is the closest casino gambling available to New York City and the largest of its kind in the state. It became a reality five years after the state Legislature, desperate to generate new revenue after the financial shock of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, approved eight video lottery casinos at horse tracks around the state.

"The raceway also, however, has endured a myriad of delays, including legal disputes with gambling opponents upstate and its own horse owners, drivers and trainers in Yonkers.

"There's challenges in any large project," said Timothy Rooney Jr., the track's general counsel and son of owner Timothy Rooney. "We've obviously had our fair share of them. But we're happy to finally be getting opened."

"The initial opening is a limited one. Track officials plan to open only the first floor of the renovated clubhouse, featuring the first 1,870 video gaming machines...."