A land-use application from Bally's Corp. to potentially let the Rhode Island-based gambling operator to build a casino on city-owned land in the Bronx was unanimously rejected by the New York City Council last week on the motion of New York City Councilor Kristy Marmorato.

Bally's is looking for one of the three gaming concessions that are available in the downstate area of New York.  Bally's prospects of obtaining one of the coveted licenses that carry slot machine, live-dealer table game, and sports betting privileges were all but destroyed when the City Council voted 29–9 against permitting a piece of a 222-acre property to be rezoned for a commercial operation.

However, Mayor Eric Adams has the authority to veto the council's decision and permit the Bally's Bronx plan to proceed.

Adams supported a proposal to declassify a portion of the Throggs Neck parkland where the firm operates the Bally's Golf Links at Ferry Point in June, which helped the Bally's plan proceed. With Adams’ blessing,the bill needed only 26 council votes instead of 34. 

The Future of Adams 

With online political wagering markets giving Adams just a 10% chance of winning reelection as an independent — Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani is the betting front-runner at implied odds of 71% and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is his closed challenger at implied odds of 15% — some believe Adams is trying to appease President Donald Trump in hopes of entering the federal government. The Trump Organization is eligible to gain $115 million if the Bally's Bronx development gets licensed.

In 2023, Trump reportedly paid $60 million to Bally's for the lease of Ferry Point Golf Links.  The deal included a clause requiring Trump to pay $115 million if Bally's were to run a casino on the land in the future.

"[The mayor] supports a fair process with as many competitive casino bids in New York City as possible,” Adams’ Deputy Press Secretary Zachary Nosanchuk told Crain’s New York Business in response to whether the mayor might veto the city council’s land-use vote on the Bally’s appeal.

“The City Council’s disapproval of this Bronx bid pits boroughs against one another and leaves the Bronx unable to even have a shot at benefiting from the potential of new jobs and new investment in their community,” Nosanchuk continued. “By rejecting the land use application for one casino bid while approving two others, the City Council is putting its finger on the scale before the state ever has a chance to consider applications. We are reviewing our options in response to this vote.”

Opposition to Trump 

Others in the New York City political community argue that the City Council is biased against the Bally's plan because it would help the Republican president, while others think Adams may be vying for a position in the Trump administration.  Democrats hold all but six of the 51 seats on the NYC Council.

Soo Kim, the chair of Bally's Corp., stated as much in May.

"[The City Council] is saying, ‘If Bally’s wins, Trump benefits.’ That’s crazy. If we don’t get a vote in the City Council, we can’t advance our bid,” Kim said.

According to Bally's officials, the projected $4 billion Bally's Bronx complex would provide 4,000 permanent union resort jobs and 15,000 union construction jobs, each paying $96,200 per year.  According to Bally's plans, the casino would bring in $357 million in tax revenue annually and have an economic impact of $1.9 billion.