Wayne Parry

NEW YORK — Community panels in New York recommended Thursday that racetrack slots operations in Queens and Yonkers should become full-blown casino resorts, bringing new clarity to potential competition for Atlantic City's casinos.

Separate community advisory committees recommended a proposal by MGM Resorts International to upgrade its slots facility at the Empire City Casino in Yonkers, and one by Resorts World New York, owned by the Malaysian gambling giant Genting, to do a similar expansion at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.

New York state gambling regulators plan to approve up to three new casinos by the end of the year in what is viewed as a serious challenge to Atlantic City's gambling market because many of its customers come from New York or the close-in suburbs.

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