While Westchester wasn’t eligible for a license at this time, nearby Orange County was. The move unleashed a flurry of intense lobbying, with developers like Caesars and Resorts World promising huge, splashy resorts.Īt the end of 2014, a panel appointed by the State Gaming Commission granted the first three licenses to sites in the upstate counties of Sullivan, Schenectady, and Seneca. In 2013, New York voters approved a constitutional amendment to expand casino gambling as part of a plan to revitalize economically distressed upstate regions. “There is nothing wrong with family members coming into your business as long as they’re capable,” says Rooney Sr.īut those restrictions are changing. Until last year, full-scale gambling in New York State had been confined to tribal lands. The casino is prohibited from offering gaming tables with live blackjack, craps, baccarat, poker, and roulette. Today, Empire City Casino offers 5,300 slot machines with electronic games, as well as year-round harness racing. admitted that he can be more critical of “Timmy” than others in the company.īoth men share a concern about the way New York State is moving into the gambling resort business, and specifically with the licensing of new sites. “It’s extremely important, no matter how talented they are, to have them work for other people first.” “There’s nothing wrong with family members coming into your business as long as they’re capable,” Rooney Sr. It helps, both men say, that Rooney Jr., an attorney, spent most of his career outside the family business before joining six years ago. is more reserved in his manner, while Rooney Sr. The conference room hosts an old, round wooden table, cardboard boxes scattered on the floor, and walls covered with photos of horses, racetracks, and more horses. does have a friendly chocolate Lab stretched out on his office floor. The Rooney offices are in a modest outbuilding on the grounds of the casino, tucked behind a long, squat aluminum building and accessible through a chain-link fence. No high-rise corner suite, mahogany desks, flat-screen TVs, or plush carpeting. Together, the family faces a changing landscape in the casino business, as New York State moves forward with licensing full-scale Las Vegas-style casinos.Īnyone expecting this prominent family to situate themselves in lavish offices is in for a surprise. runs the business with his son, Tim Rooney Jr., general counsel, and his son-in-law, Bob Galterio, VP and COO. The family, best known for football, maintains strong roots in racing, as well as their powerful familial ties. Today, that son, Tim Rooney Sr., is president of Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway.

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