Donald Trump’s business is looking at a six-figure payday for essentially doing nothing as a lucrative New York City casino bid clears hurdle after hurdle thanks in no small part to Mayor Eric Adams.
The Trump Organization sold the lease to the infamous “Trump Links” golf course in the Bronx in 2023 to the Bally’s Corporation for $60 million. However, written into the deal was a condition that should the Bally’s Corporation turn the land into a casino, it must pay the Trump Organization an additional $115 million.
The Bally’s Corporation’s bid to turn the land into a casino was overwhelmingly rejected by New York City Council in July. However, Adams took the unusual step of vetoing the decision, allowing the bid to charge forward and raising suspicion of illicit backroom dealings between Adams and the Trump administration.
Billionaire developer Steve Witkoff is a consultant to the Bally’s Corporation. He also serves as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East and was reportedly involved in promising Adams a Saudi Arabian ambassadorship in the Trump administration if Adams ended his ill-fated re-election campaign.
“What happened when Trump got elected was the federal anti-corruption sheriff rode off into the sunset… What’s left in its wake is this lawlessness. What we’re seeing here is a clear example of what that looks like,” John Kaehny, executive director of government watchdog organization Reinvent Albany, told Politico.
Eric Adams’ office firmly denies any improper motivations behind the mayor’s decision to veto the proposal, saying it was done to potentially bring financial windfall to the Bronx, not Trump.
At the time, Eric Adams characterized Bally’s bid as “a $4 billion private investment that would deliver 15,000 union construction jobs, 4,000 permanent union jobs, and more than $625 million in community benefits—including millions in funding for schools, parks, youth programs, nonprofits, and public safety” to the Bronx.
He also claimed his veto was made at the direct request of Bronx officials Rafael Salamanca and Kevin Riley, the chairs of the City Council Land Use Committee and Subcommittee on Zoning, respectively.
“To make myself abundantly clear, this is not an endorsement or expression of support giving a leg up to any casino bid over the others as the City Council has tried to do, but an action I feel is necessary to best ensure a fair and competitive process,” said Adams.
Adams’ Deputy Press Secretary William Fowler claimed that the City Council’s rejection of Bally’s bid came after strong-arming from other bidders, including New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, who is bidding to build a casino next to Citi Field. He echoed the sentiment that Adams’ veto was to re-level the playing field among the boroughs.
“Since the start of this administration, Mayor Adams has been clear and consistent that he does not have a preference on where a casino is built in New York City, just that he supports at least one being built in the five boroughs because it will create thousands of good-paying jobs and generate billions in economic impact for our city,” said Fowler.
”Every statement, action, appointment, and veto has been driven by one goal: giving New Yorkers the best possible odds to benefit from a casino in their borough and all the public benefits that come with it — nothing more, nothing less. To suggest otherwise is either ignorant or deliberately misleading.”
Fowler acknowledged Witkoff’s involvement with the Bally’s Corporation and Adams, but insisted Adams was never formally offered a job in the Trump administration and characterized Witkoff’s ties to both stories as “a coincidence.”
The Daily Beast reached out to the White House for comment.
The Bally’s Corporation’s bid faces one last hurdle in the form of a local board vote. Should it pass, state gambling regulators will make their decision in December.
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