Somebody in the group chat always asks the same question the week before a casino night: who's staying sober to drive home from Yonkers Avenue? Empire City Casino doesn't sell parking passes, doesn't stagger entry by lot color, and doesn't charge admission — but it also doesn't publish a dedicated motorcoach curb, which leaves most groups guessing where a bus is actually supposed to pull up. The short version: your bus drops your group at the West Entrance (Grand Victorian), the same door the casino's own free shuttle already uses, and it can wait nearby in the free self-parking lot until you're ready to head home.
Below is everything that's actually published about getting a group to 810 Yonkers Avenue — the free parking situation, why the casino's own “Motor Coach program” doesn't mean what most people assume it means, which roads actually get you there from Manhattan or the Bronx, what fills the gaming floor and the Entertainment Lounge on a given weekend, and what size vehicle makes sense for your group. For trips that touch more than one Yonkers-area stop, the Yonkers group transportation services page covers multi-stop planning; everything here is specific to getting a group to and from Empire City.
Why Rent a Bus to Empire City Casino?
A casino trip has one built-in problem no other night out has: everyone in the car is drinking, and somebody still has to drive the Cross County Parkway home. Split a group of 20 into five cars and you've also split five different arrival times, five different spots in the free lot, and at least one person who insists they know a shortcut off Central Park Avenue that adds ten minutes instead of saving them.
One bus solves all of it at once. Your group leaves from one pickup point, arrives together at the West Entrance, and rolls home together whenever the group is actually ready — not whenever the least lucky player at the table decides to call it a night. A Yonkers party bus rental or charter bus keeps the whole group in one vehicle instead of splitting the tab, the parking spots, and the designated-transportation provider duty five different ways.
Charter Bus and Party Bus Drop-Off at Empire City Casino
Empire City's own site is direct about parking, if not detailed: “Free self-parking and Shuttle Bus Service are available from general parking to the West Entrance (Grand Victorian)”, according to the casino's official parking page. There's no admission charge, no pay lot, and no color-coded pass system to sort out before you go — a real difference from a stadium or arena trip, where half the planning is figuring out which lot your pass actually lets you into.
What the property doesn't publish is a separate motorcoach lane or a numbered bus gate. Because the shuttle that ferries guests in from general parking already loads and unloads at the West Entrance, that's the practical drop point most groups use — your bus pulls into the same drive, your group steps off right at the Grand Victorian doors, and the bus then moves into the free lot instead of circling for a curb spot the way a car would. Because that lot has no gate, meter, or attendant charging by vehicle size, staging a bus there while your group is inside doesn't cost anything extra beyond the time itself.
There's no parking pass to buy and no lot color to memorize. Empire City's free self-parking and shuttle-to-entrance setup is simpler than almost any stadium or arena trip — the only real planning question is where your bus waits, and the free lot answers that too.
Empire City Casino's Motor Coach Program: What Bus Groups Need to Know
This is the detail that trips up first-time planners. Empire City's own FAQ page confirms “Yes, Empire City Casino welcomes motor coach groups,” but adds that “due to Health and Safety guidelines, we are not currently operating our Motor Coach program.” That sounds like buses aren't allowed on property — they are. The “Motor Coach program” the FAQ refers to is the casino's own marketing arrangement with tour operators (comps, play credits, and transportation provider incentives for bringing a busload of players).
It has nothing to do with whether a private charter bus, party bus, or minibus can physically drop your group at the door.
In practice, that means a Yonkers charter bus rental booked through Yonkersminibuscompany.com arrives, parks, and departs exactly like any other vehicle in the free lot — your group just isn't signed up for the casino's own tour-operator comps program, which isn't running right now anyway. If your group is chasing player comps specifically, call the casino directly to ask what's currently available; if you just need everyone there together and home together, none of this changes your plan.
Getting to Empire City Casino: Routes From I-87, the Cross County Parkway and Central Park Avenue
Empire City's own homepage puts the property “just 20 miles north of Times Square”, which is close enough that a lot of Manhattan groups underestimate how long the drive actually takes once the Major Deegan Expressway backs up. Yonkers Avenue itself is one of the city's four main east-west streets, and it crosses three roads a group is likely to already be on: the Saw Mill River Parkway, the Cross County Parkway, and I-87 (the New York State Thruway). Groups coming from the Bronx or northern Manhattan generally stay on I-87 to the Yonkers Avenue exit; groups coming from White Plains or the northern suburbs typically drop down Central Park Avenue (NY-100), which crosses the Sprain Brook Parkway a few miles north of the casino.
A group coming off a Yankees game has an even shorter hop. From the stadium in the South Bronx, the drive north on I-87 to Yonkers Avenue is a natural add-on for a game-then-casino night, without needing a second vehicle or a second pickup.
Empire City Casino Bus Rental vs. Rideshare, Transit and Driving Yourself
A bus-comparison site should be honest about when a bus isn't the move: for two or three people, driving yourselves to a free lot is genuinely the simplest option Empire City offers. The math changes once a group grows past a car or two.
Wikipedia's entry on the property notes that Metro-North Railroad service and Westchester's Bee-Line bus system both serve the general area, but neither drops a rider at the casino's own door the way the free shuttle or a private bus does — a Metro-North rider still needs a connecting bus or a car from the nearest Hudson Line station, and Bee-Line's schedule isn't built around casino hours that run to 6am. Rideshare works for a solo trip, but a group splitting into four or five separate cars loses the one thing a casino night is supposed to have: everybody at the table, then everybody in the same vehicle heading home, with nobody behind the wheel after a night of drinks.
What Size Bus Fits Your Group to Empire City Casino
Because Empire City's lot doesn't charge by vehicle size, there's no financial reason to undersize your bus the way you might for a paid stadium lot. The right pick comes down to headcount and how much space your group wants once you're rolling.
| Vehicle | Typical seats | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Sprinter van rental with transportation provider | Up to ~14 | Small friend groups, VIP host outings |
| 18-passenger minibus | ~18–25 | Church and senior center groups, smaller office outings |
| 35-passenger minibus | ~28–35 | Mid-size birthday, bachelorette, or club groups |
| Charter bus rental | Up to 56 | Large fundraiser groups, senior center trips, big office nights |
| Party bus rental | 15–40 | Bachelorette parties, birthday groups wanting a bar and lighting on the ride over |
Empire City draws a wide mix of groups, and the vehicle usually follows the occasion. Senior centers and church group transportation bookings tend to favor a minibus for a daytime slots trip; milestone birthday party transportation and bachelor and bachelorette transportation groups lean toward a party bus with a bar and lighting built in for the ride over; and corporate transportation bookings for an after-work team outing usually land on a mid-size minibus or a full charter bus depending on headcount. Browse the full vehicle lineup to compare every option side by side.
Empire City Casino Party Bus and Charter Bus Rental Prices
Pricing for a Yonkers casino run depends on the same handful of factors as any local trip: vehicle size, total hours booked, the date, and how far the pickup point is from Yonkers Avenue. To give you an idea, a 25-passenger minibus booked for a five-hour casino night — pickup at 6:00 PM, back on the road by 11:00 PM — might run somewhere in the $700–$900 range, or roughly $28 to $36 a person split across the group. That figure moves with the season, the vehicle, and the exact hours, so the fastest way to get a number for your date is the quick online form or a call to 914-560-5450.
Splitting one flat rate across a full group almost always beats the per-car cost of gas, plus the fact that nobody in a private bus has to skip the second round because they're driving. Check the Yonkers bus rental prices page for a broader look at what shapes pricing across different trip types.
Inside Empire City Casino: Hours, Age Rules and What's on the Floor
Empire City's gaming floor runs long: “Our gaming floor is open daily from 10am until 6am,” per the casino's own FAQ page. That's a wide window for a group trip — there's no early closing time forcing a rushed pickup, and a late-evening arrival still leaves hours on the floor before anyone needs to think about the ride home.
Age matters more than at most Yonkers venues: “Guests must be at least 18 years old to play video gaming machines or wager on horses,” with a valid photo ID required, so this isn't the pick for a graduation trip that includes anyone under 18. The floor itself covers “4,600+” games spanning slots, video poker, progressives, and keno, per the casino's casino page, plus electronic table games where blackjack and roulette minimum bets “start at just $10.” If your group wants a stop before or after the tables, dining options on-site include The Pub, The Big Kitchen, Empire City Chophouse, and Lil' Cocina.
Yonkers Raceway Harness Racing and Group Trips
Empire City sits on the same grounds as Yonkers Raceway, which traces back to 1899 as the Empire City Trotting Club and has run harness racing continuously for more than 35 years, according to the casino's own history page. MGM Resorts has operated the property since acquiring it from the Rooney family in 2019, while the land itself is owned by Vici Properties. For groups who want more than the slot floor, a live harness race adds a genuinely different reason to book a bus up Yonkers Avenue — check the casino's own race calendar for dates before locking in a trip built around post time.
What's Changing at Empire City Casino
Worth knowing before you plan a trip more than a year out: MGM Yonkers filed a formal application for a full commercial casino license with the New York Gaming Commission on June 26, 2025, proposing a $2.3 billion overhaul of the property, according to MGM's own press release. The plan includes an expanded gaming floor, a new BetMGM retail sportsbook, an entertainment venue built to hold up to 5,000 people, three new restaurants, and — notably for anyone reading this guide — a new parking garage with solar arrays and EV charging spaces, targeted for completion by mid-2029 if the license is approved. None of that has changed how a bus gets to the property today, but a multi-year construction project on this site would eventually mean today's free surface lot and West Entrance drop point look different.
Worth a quick check before locking in a trip once construction is actually underway.
Nearby Hotels for an Empire City Casino Group Trip
Empire City doesn't operate a hotel on-site — the casino's own area hotels page lists nearby options instead, including the Hampton Inn & Suites on Corporate Drive, the Hampton Inn & Suites Yonkers-Westchester on Tuckahoe Road, the Courtyard and Residence Inn on Executive Boulevard, and the Hyatt Place on Mall Walk. For a group staying overnight before or after a casino trip, a single bus can cover the hotel-to-casino leg the same way it covers the trip in from Manhattan or the Bronx, with one pickup instead of a caravan of rideshares between the hotel and Yonkers Avenue.
Leaving Empire City Casino: Pickup After Your Visit
Because Empire City is a free lot rather than a ticketed venue, there's no post-event crowd surge or exit traffic pattern to plan around the way there would be after a concert or a game — the property doesn't empty out all at once. That makes pickup simpler: agree on a return time with your group before anyone hits the floor, and the bus stages in the free lot and pulls back around to the West Entrance drive when you're ready. Set a clear meeting spot at the Grand Victorian doors before the group splits up inside — it's the same landmark everyone used walking in, easy to find again after a few hours on the floor.
Best Times to Book an Empire City Casino Party Bus
Empire City's Entertainment Lounge runs live music Friday and Saturday nights from 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM, with acts rotating through the lineup — recent bookings have included performers such as Milo Z, The Priceless Band, and a Motown Revue, per the casino's own entertainment page. A Friday or Saturday casino night that starts with dinner and ends with the late set makes for a longer bus booking than a quick weekday slots run, so factor those extra hours into your pickup time when you request a quote. Weeknight trips, by contrast, tend to be shorter and easier to schedule around a standard dinner-and-a-few-hours window.
Also planning a Yankee Stadium game or a Madison Square Garden show on the same trip? Those guides cover their own drop-offs and staging.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does a charter bus or party bus drop off at Empire City Casino?
The practical drop point is the West Entrance at the Grand Victorian, the same door the casino's own free shuttle uses to bring guests in from general parking. There's no separate published motorcoach gate, so your bus pulls into that same drive, your group steps off right at the door, and the bus then moves into the free lot.
Is parking free for a bus group at Empire City Casino?
Yes. Empire City offers free self-parking with no admission charge, per the casino's own parking page. There's no pass to buy, no color-coded lot system, and no separate charge for larger vehicles.
Does Empire City Casino have a motor coach program for group tours?
The casino's FAQ says it welcomes motor coach groups but is “not currently operating” its formal Motor Coach program, which is the tour-operator comps and incentive arrangement, not a restriction on buses using the property. A private charter bus, party bus, or minibus parks and drops off exactly the same as any other vehicle.
What are the age requirements to enter Empire City Casino?
Guests must be at least 18 years old to play video gaming machines or wager on horses, and a valid photo ID is required. That makes it a poor fit for any group trip that includes minors.
How much does it cost to rent a bus to Empire City Casino?
Pricing depends on vehicle size, total hours, the date, and your pickup location. A 25-passenger minibus for a five-hour casino night might run in the $700–$900 range as a rough example, but every quote varies — call 914-560-5450 or use the online form for a number specific to your trip.
What's the best route to Empire City Casino from Manhattan?
Empire City is about 20 miles north of Times Square, and most groups take the Major Deegan Expressway / I-87 north to the Yonkers Avenue exit. Traffic through the Bronx on a Friday evening can slow that down considerably, so build extra time into a peak-hour trip.
Is there a hotel at Empire City Casino?
No, the property does not currently operate an on-site hotel. The casino's own area hotels page lists nearby options along Corporate Drive, Tuckahoe Road, and Executive Boulevard for groups staying overnight.
What size bus should our group book for a casino trip?
Because the free lot doesn't charge by vehicle size, there's no cost penalty for sizing up. Smaller friend groups typically book a Sprinter van or 18-passenger minibus, while bachelorette parties, birthday groups, and office outings often land on a 30- to 40-passenger party bus or charter bus.
Is there live harness racing at Empire City Casino?
Yes. The property is also home to Yonkers Raceway, which has run harness racing continuously for more than 35 years. Check the casino's own race calendar for current post dates before booking a trip built around a live race.
How far in advance should we book a party bus to Empire City Casino?
A weeknight casino run can often be arranged with a couple weeks of notice, but Friday and Saturday nights — especially when the Entertainment Lounge has a headline act — book up faster. The earlier your group locks in a date, the more vehicle options are available.
Is public transit an option to Empire City Casino?
Metro-North Railroad and Westchester's Bee-Line bus system both serve the general area, but neither drops a rider directly at the casino's door the way a private bus or the property's own shuttle does. For a group of any size, that gap in convenience is exactly what a private bus closes.
What time does Empire City Casino open and close?
The gaming floor is open daily from 10am until 6am, per the casino's own FAQ, giving groups a wide window to plan an evening trip without worrying about an early closing time.
Book Your Empire City Casino Bus Today
Whether it's a Friday night out with the Entertainment Lounge running late, a senior center trip for an afternoon on the slots, or a bachelorette party making Empire City one stop on a bigger night, Yonkersminibuscompany.com makes it easy to compare vehicles and rates for the ride up Yonkers Avenue. Fill out the quick online form or call 914-560-5450 any time to get pricing for your group.
