When Yonkers Raceway fell on hard times, the Rooney family came up with the idea to add a casino, as it had been doing in Pittsburgh and other places. In the beginning, the family didn’t focus too much on food and beverage, knowing that most of the people coming to the Empire City Casino were there just for the gaming. Empire City Casino General Counsel Tim Rooney, Jr. Recently hosted a media tour to give an update on the nearly-completed $50 million casino expansion to Empire City in Yonkers, New York. MGM will acquire the Empire City Casino in Yonkers, N.Y., from the Rooney family, which has owned the operation at Yonkers Raceway for more than four decades. The Wall Street Journal reported in. Launched what turned out to be a can't-lose startup in 1933, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tim now runs Empire City Casino, a gambling hall and racetrack just north of New York City.

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Just don’t lose your shirt!

BY PAMELA STERN

It’s a sizzling summer at Empire City Casino located at Yonkers Raceway and it’s about to get even hotter as rock n’ roll legend Pat Benatar is set to play this weekend, August 12, as part of Empire City’s summer concert series.

While the summer concerts have been a big draw, Empire City fans are excited about the casino’s expansion set to be revealed this fall. The 66,000 square foot expansion will include a new casino entrance will include a high-tech porte-cochère that will not only enhance the architecture of the structure, but also provide necessary protections for guests during inclement weather.

After six years in business, Empire City Casino has made its mark in the region and is clearly here to stay.

“We are proud to be Yonkers’ largest employer with 1,200 employees and we are committed to this community,” Empire City Casino’s President and owner, Timothy J. Rooney, said. “As we grow and expand everyone benefits. By investing in Yonkers and Empire City, we will create new jobs and provide critically needed revenue for our schools, our community and our state during difficult economic times.”

The expansion will include two new restaurants. ‘Pinch’ will be an innovative premium casual American grill and Dan Rooney’s Cafe& Bar will be a fun take on the classic Irish pub. These new restaurants and an overhaul of existing offerings are in full swing.
The restaurants will encompass a large portion of the additional 66,000 square foot space currently being constructed.

Pinch will offer an in-house growler shop in the restaurant where guests can take their favorite tap beer home in their own growler bottles. Dan Rooney’s Cafe& Bar will offer a high-energy atmosphere catering to sports enthusiasts, with flat screen televisions throughout the pub for live sporting events and simulcast horseracing, as well as an authentic betting cage located in the pub where guests can place wagers.

This is inspired by the original Dan Rooney’s Cafe & Bar built and operated in the early 1900s in Pittsburgh by the family of Tim Rooney, the current owner and operator of Empire City Casino. Yes, that’s the same Rooney family that owns the Pittsburgh Steelers and other prominent American businesses. The plan is for the new Dan Rooney’s Cafe & Bar will be warm, inviting and casual, featuring dual flame rotisseries, private “snugs” for intimate seating, two fireplaces, and plenty of musical entertainment with nightly dueling pianos.

Dan Rooney’s will also feature two vintage style bowling lanes, inspired by turn of the century bowling alleys, on the second level of the pub. Taking the typical Irish pub to the next level, Dan Rooney’s will prepare high-quality traditional pub food created by chef Christopher Lee, and will feature a carving station for open-flame rotisserie.

Empire City’s Food Court will be undergoing a renovation and be reintroduced as The Big Kitchen at Empire Plaza. The Big Kitchen will feature an all new coffee bar and five distinct cooking stations, including New Original Ray’s, The Fry Shack, Empire Grill, Canton Kitchen and Noodle Shop, and Corner Deli.

Both Nonno’s Italian restaurant and the Empire Terrace Restaurant will both have menu enhancements and regular promotional events. Other changes that are planned for the property in the near future, include the revamping of the trackside Grab ‘N Go which will not only be renamed but also upgraded into a full service grill with a little Latin flare.

The Rooney family makes a point to keep Empire City involved in the community.

Empire City and the Rooney family hosted a group of active military personnel who were wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, along with family members of the troops, to a lunch at actor Robert DeNiro’s famed Tribeca Grill. This lunch is the second that the Rooney’s and Empire City Casino have hosted for wounded military members in conjunction with a trip that is organized by the Baltimore Police and Operation Homefront to bring veterans currently residing at Walter Reed Medical Center to New York City for a well-deserved outing.

This was a small gesture compared to what these brave men and women have given of themselves,” said Timothy J. Rooney, Jr. “We are honored to have been given the opportunity to do this for them.” On August 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Empire City is hosting a veterans only job fair, as an aid to those who’ve served in the military and now are back home looking for work.

Empire City also has established itself as an entertainment venue in addition to a center for gaming. The ongoing summer concert series has proven to be a success. Some upcoming shows are:

8/12 – opening act: Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo at 5:45 and main act: John Miller at 6:30 p.m.
8/19 – opening act: Otis Day and the Knights at 7 p.m. and main act: Curbside Hustle at 8 p.m.
8/26 – opening act: Sara Evans at 7 p.m. and main act: Rachel Allyn at 8 p.m.

“It’s a really intimate setting,” said Taryn Duffy, director of Public Affairs. “We’ve been at max capacity for most of the concerts so far. The concert series have been terrific and the guests have really enjoyed them. The Marshall Tucker Band was a complete sell out so that’s been the most popular so far, but we suspect that the Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo and our other concerts will be just as successful. Will there be more concerts to follow after the August Summer Series No word on this yet but as the greatest entertainment destination in the region, there’s never a shortage of fun and exciting things to do here at Empire City Casino.”

During the month of August Empire City has some new and exciting promotions for its patrons. Some of the new things include the refreshing of the gaming floor and unveiling of new high-tech futuristic new electronic table games that feature real dice and real playing cards. These new electronic table games are roulette, craps, baccarat and now sic bo. Some promotions for August are: Jackpot Jumble, where players can win up to $25,000 cash, a Hawaii Trip, one million Empire Points and more.

Empire Club members can visit a promotion booth on Mondays and Thursdays in August to receive their two free Jackpot Jumbles. The comedy nights will be on August 8 and 22 in the Good Time Room located on the third floor. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the start at 8 p.m. Empire Club Members pay $5, non members pay $15 and Elite Card members are free. All patrons receive one free drink ticket. Every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Empire Club members will get a free NY Post newspaper, coffee and pastry, while supplies last.

On Thursday August 9 from 12-3 p.m. in the Good Time Room, “Price is Right” auditions are being held, contestants are being sought from the tri-state area.

From August 14-18 Empire City will be having its IGT $100,000 Wheel of Fortunate Slot Tournament. Lucky Empire Club members who earned a seat will be getting ready to try their luck in this slot tournament More than 1,200 people will participate in this event.

Empire City also features regular music and comedy shows in its main lounge area, and has a whole host of special events you can check out at http://www.empirecitycasino.com/calendar.

Empire City, is located at Yonkers Raceway, but its name actually predates the racetrack. The original racetrack founded at the site way back in 1899 was called Empire City Race Track. The site still hosts regular racing and major stakes on its one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track. Notably, the famed horse Seabiscuit raced at Yonkers on many occasions in the 1930s.

Change in State Constitution May Allow Empire City to Build Hotel and Resort in Yonkers

The questions that everyone wants to know answers to is will Empire City have “live” table games and will Empire City build a hotel and resort?

The answer lies with state lawmakers. The Rooney family has been courting Albany for legislation in their favor. Their sales pitch is twofold- it is a good draw for New York to have full table casino and hotel/resort in Yonkers, and building gaming facilities in the state will keep money from leaving the state.

On the other side of the fence, anti-gambling groups warn that encouraging gambling “shrinks the middle class.” Director of Empire Casino Public Affairs Taryn Duffy says gaming should be looked at as entertainment and most casino customers are not gambling addicts, by any means.

The New York State Constitution currently prohibits full gaming except on Indian reserves, but the legislature took steps to change that in 2012. To change the Constitution legislation must pass in successive legislative sessions and then be put up for referendum. The soonest the law may go to a public referendum is Election Day 2013.

Legislators are limiting full gaming rights to only seven casinos, and Yonkers is making their case to be one of the seven.

“The state legislature took the first step towards changing the constitution to allow up to seven full gaming licenses,” Duffy explained. “New Yorkers want the gaming revenue and jobs that we lose to the surrounding states that have live table gaming, to stay in New York so we’re confident the constitutional amendment will pass and that Empire City Casino can make a strong argument to support us receiving one of those licenses.”

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“In less than six years, Empire City Casino has generated $1.5 Billion for our state schools and another $500 Million for local and state government, the racing industry and agriculture. Imagine what we could accomplish for New Yorkers if we have the ability to complete on a level playing field with our neighboring states! If Empire City Casino were to receive a full gaming license, we are certainly prepared to make the necessary investments to develop a full-scale entertainment destination, and that would likely include a hotel & spa, multi-use sports & entertainment venue, retail space, a parking garage and more.”

Yonkers Raceway has been a historically lucky spot for the Rooney family. Back in 1937, Art Rooney Sr. placed a bet there on a horse said to have 14-1 odds. The wager began a legendary three-day run where—between racetracks at Yonkers, Aqueduct, and Saratoga—Rooney, the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and patriarch of the legendary sports clan, parlayed those winnings into roughly $250,000, a sum the equivalent of millions today.

Tim Rooney Empire City Casino

His bookmaker on that first bet was Tim J. Mara, owner of the rival New York Giants. As the Pittsburgh Press later reported, “Mara usually marks Art’s programs and if Rooney likes his [Mara’s] selections, he’ll bet the limit on them. He’s a nut on hunches, and so far they have been holding up splendidly.”

So splendidly, in fact, that Rooney and his wife Kathleen named their son Tim, who was born the weekend of the big run, in Mara’s honor.

Now fast-forward 78 years. Today, that son, Tim Rooney Sr., is president of Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway. The family, best known for football, maintains strong roots in racing, as well as their powerful familial ties. Tim Rooney Sr. runs the business with his son, Tim Rooney Jr., general counsel, and his son-in-law, Bob Galterio, VP and COO. 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.

Anyone expecting this prominent family to situate themselves in lavish offices is in for a surprise. No high-rise corner suite, mahogany desks, flat-screen TVs, or plush carpeting. 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. Neither Rooney Sr. nor Jr. has a window, though Rooney Jr. does have a friendly chocolate Lab stretched out on his office floor. 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.

Rooney Jr. is more reserved in his manner, while Rooney Sr. clearly loves to tell a good story. Father and son work well together. It helps, both men say, that Rooney Jr., an attorney, spent most of his career outside the family business before joining six years ago.

“There’s nothing wrong with family members coming into your business as long as they’re capable,” Rooney Sr. says. “It’s extremely important, no matter how talented they are, to have them work for other people first.”

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Rooney Sr. admitted that he can be more critical of “Timmy” than others in the company.

Both 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. Today, Empire City Casino offers 5,300 slot machines with electronic games, as well as year-round harness racing. The casino is prohibited from offering gaming tables with live blackjack, craps, baccarat, poker, and roulette. Until last year, full-scale gambling in New York State had been confined to tribal lands.

“There is nothing wrong with family members coming into your business as long as they’re capable,” says Rooney Sr.

But those restrictions are changing. In 2013, New York voters approved a constitutional amendment to expand casino gambling as part of a plan to revitalize economically distressed upstate regions. The move unleashed a flurry of intense lobbying, with developers like Caesars and Resorts World promising huge, splashy resorts.

At 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. While Westchester wasn’t eligible for a license at this time, nearby Orange County was. Six developers made bids there, including a Malaysian conglomerate called Genting Group, which had proposed an enormous 1,000-hotel-room complex on what is now an old landing strip in Tuxedo, New York.

More: Behind The Slot Machines With Empire City Casino Host Sal Sciarra

The potential pitfalls for the Rooneys were multiple. First, new casinos anywhere in the state could undermine the racetrack casinos. And a large resort with gaming tables in nearby Orange County could have made a huge dent in Empire City’s business. The Rooneys lobbied hard against a license for the site and were thrilled with the panel’s decision against an Orange County site.

“We applaud [the board] for their work and ultimate determination that Sullivan County represents the region’s best hope for economic revitalization through casino and resort development,” says Tim Rooney Jr. The Rooneys had halted future investments and expansions until the casino sites were chosen.

The family purchased Yonkers Raceway in 1972. In addition to owning the Steelers, the Rooneys had long been involved in the racing business. They owned Liberty Bell Park in Pennsylvania; The Palm Beach Kennel Club, a greyhound racetrack in Florida; and part of Randall Park, a thoroughbred track in Cleveland. Though Seabiscuit won a race at Yonkers (then called Empire City Racing Association) in 1936, the track’s thoroughbred racing days were long over by the time the Rooneys purchased the business. (Empire City had been converted for harness racing in 1942.)

When the Rooneys bought the business, it was solely a racetrack. But in 2001, New York State passed legislation allowing racetracks to install slot machines. But this version of the law mandated tax rates too cumbersome to make a profit, the Rooneys say. Business looked so dire that they almost sold the property in 2001. But the legislation was amended in 2006, and in October of that year, Empire City Casino had a soft opening with 1,870 machines.

Meanwhile, racetrack casino operators, the Rooneys included, lobbied the New York State Racing Commission for changes. The legislation was amended and the Rooneys hung on to the business.

While many people assume casinos are “cash cows,” the family maintains that between paying off winners and New York State taxes, they do not make as much as people suppose.

The State gets almost 69 percent of casino profit, which is split between education (Empire City has generated more than $2.3 billion for education in the state) and “the horsemen’s share” (meant to revitalize the racing industry). The remaining 31 percent goes back into casino operations.

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Getting into the casino business ultimately forced Rooney Sr. to divest his ownership share of his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers. The NFL took a position against joint ownership of the team and a casino, and Rooney Sr. says he was compelled to sell his shares to his brother Dan. The move, he says, was “disastrous for me, because I’m a fan.” Then he adds, deadpan, “It’s getting less difficult as the team gets worse.”

For the Rooneys, football was a business, not a hobby. Father and son make a distinction between early owners like themselves and current owners, for whom a football team is “a vanity asset.”

“When we owned the football team in Pittsburgh, we lived in the poorest neighborhood,” Rooney Sr. says. While people knew who they were, owning a team then, was “no big deal,” he explains.

The Rooneys originally paid $185 million for Empire City. Overall they’ve invested more than $300 million into the property. In 2013, they completed a $50 million renovation. The 66,000-square-foot expansion included a 300-foot curved glass wall, a 30,000-square-foot gaming room, and two new restaurants. The casino formed a partnership with well-known Chef Alain Ducasse to open pinch, a high-end American restaurant, which offers 100 New York beers on tap. They also opened Dan Rooney’s, a traditional Irish pub, with a façade loosely based on Rooney Sr.’s grandfather’s bar in Pittsburgh. With the restaurants, the Rooneys hope that Empire City might become a destination for customers who might not have otherwise visited the casino floor.

In part, the renovations were undertaken to compete with Aqueduct Racetrack. But the Rooneys also wanted a more state-of-the-art facility in anticipation of full casino licenses being awarded. A second round of licenses, which could include Westchester, will be granted in roughly seven years.

The business model has a lot going for it. Empire City is 1.8 miles from the New York City line and easily accessible from public transportation and major highways. “We’re confident that this can be the best site for commercial gaming,” Rooney Jr. says.

Asked what it’s like to live in such a high-profile family, the Rooneys look unfazed. Neither of them think about it that way. And now the family is famous for more than football and racing: Two Hollywood stars have joined the mix.

Only as an afterthought does Rooney Sr. say, “Want to see a picture of my granddaughter?” That photo is a Vogue cover of Academy-Award nominated Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo). And Rooney’s sister Kate Mara is best known for her Emmy-nominated role of a conniving young reporter on House of Cards. They are the daughters of Tim Mara (yes, of the Giants clan) and Kathleen McNulty (née Rooney).

The Rooneys’ modesty extends to their philanthropy. The family gives generously, with a special interest in literacy, but they don’t like to boast about it. These days, Rooney Sr. enjoys golfing and Rooney Jr. likes to travel. But in the end, it goes back to those racing roots.

Rooney Jr. smiles. “It’s no mystery what my father loves. It’s the horses.”