If you are trying to plan the trip from Manhattan, the fixed point this article can document is the venue's city: Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway is documented in Yonkers, New York, in Westchester County, and the published city coordinates are 40.94138889, -73.86444444. What this article can do is explain the structure of getting there and what to verify before you leave; it does not publish route directions, road mileage, or travel times.
The venue is documented as an electronic table games property, and the location precision available here is city level rather than property level. That matters because any distance figure below is measured from Yonkers as a city centre, not from the casino itself.
What the Manhattan reference does and does not tell you
Manhattan is one of the documented reference points for Yonkers. The straight-line distance from Yonkers to Manhattan is 17.4 miles, measured city-centre to city-centre. That is a great-circle figure only, not a road distance and not a measurement from the property; any real journey on roads or transit will be longer.
For this reason, a question framed as "from Manhattan" can be answered only in a limited way here. You can use Manhattan as a geographic reference, but the current practical answer for your own trip depends on where in Manhattan you start, which arrival mode you choose, and what the venue is currently doing with parking, pick-up areas, and guest entry procedures.
The venue's documented position
Publicly published reference sources place Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, Westchester County, New York. The documented city coordinates are 40.94138889 latitude and -73.86444444 longitude.
Because the property itself does not have a published coordinate in the material used here, this article stays at the city level. That means it can describe the venue's city placement and the categories of arrival planning, but it cannot give a property-specific mileage figure or a turn-by-turn approach.
Arrival modes: what each one means in practice
Choosing how to arrive is less about a single "best" route and more about what kind of uncertainty you want to remove before departure. For a casino trip, the most useful checks are usually not road names but operational details: where you are expected to enter, whether the venue serves your chosen arrival mode, and whether any pre-booking or venue-specific condition applies.
| Arrival mode | What to confirm | Why it matters | Where the current answer usually sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-drive or drop-off by car | Parking format, whether parking is self-park or another format, and which guest entrance your arrival point connects to | The closest practical arrival point may not be the same as the main public entrance, and parking arrangements can change during works or events | The venue's own visitor information, parking information, or contact page |
| Arrival via airport first | Whether the airport-to-venue journey includes any venue shuttle, whether a shuttle exists at all, and whether advance reservation is required | Many travellers assume a shuttle exists when it may not, or assume walk-up boarding when pre-booking may be required | The venue's transportation or guest services information, and the airport's ground transportation information |
| Public transport | Whether the venue falls within the practical service area of your chosen network, where the last usable return service is, and how the final segment to the venue is handled | The limiting factor is often the return leg rather than the outbound leg, especially late in the day | The relevant transit operator's service updates and the venue's own arrival guidance |
| Charter car or organised bus trip | Collection point, return policy, whether the trip is purely transport or tied to a gaming-related condition, and who handles changes | Group transport can carry separate conditions that matter more than the journey itself | The organiser's booking terms and the venue's group sales or transportation information |
If you are driving or being dropped off
For car-based arrival, the key issue is not the abstract distance from Manhattan but how the venue receives vehicles on the day you travel. You should confirm the parking format and the guest entrance associated with that parking or drop-off area, because a property can have more than one arrival point and not all of them serve the same purpose.
The authoritative current answer is usually on the venue's own visitor-facing channels, especially parking, transportation, or contact information pages. If the site leaves anything unclear, guest services is the place to verify whether private vehicles, ride-hail drop-offs, and pick-ups are handled in the same place or in separate areas.
If you are arriving through an airport first
Airport-based trips involve an extra layer that road-only journeys do not: the handoff from the airport to the venue area. The two checks that matter most are whether the venue offers any shuttle link at all and, if it does, whether that service needs prior reservation rather than simple walk-up use.
The right places to verify this are the venue's own transportation information and the airport's ground transport information. If neither source shows a venue-linked transfer clearly, do not assume one exists; confirm the final-leg arrangement before you travel so the airport is not where you discover the gap.
If you are using public transport
Public transport planning is really about service coverage and the return leg. You need to confirm whether the venue is realistically within the service area of the system you plan to use and whether the last usable return service fits your visit, because the final departure window is often the hardest constraint.
The authoritative answer belongs with the transit operator for schedules, service notices, and service area, then with the venue for the last segment from the nearest practical stop to the casino entrance. Those two sources answer different parts of the same question, and both matter.
If you are joining a charter, coach, or bus package
Organised transport can look simpler on the surface because someone else sets the movement pattern, but it introduces terms you should read closely. The core checks are the collection point, the return arrangement, and whether the trip is bundled with any gaming-related condition or venue-specific restriction.
The current answer is usually held by the trip organiser in its booking terms, with the venue able to confirm only the part that concerns on-site reception of groups. If a package includes any casino-related condition, read that condition before paying rather than treating the trip as ordinary transport.
Getting into the venue: what kinds of requirements may exist
Separate the travel question from the entry question. Even after you have reached the site, a casino venue may apply its own admission conditions, and those are not something this article can settle in advance for this specific property beyond the general categories that commonly matter.
Before you leave, confirm whether the venue applies an age minimum, what form of identification it accepts, whether any dress requirement exists, and whether any part of the property uses separate paid entry or restricted-access areas. Age rules in this sector commonly turn on jurisdiction and venue policy, often in an 18+ or 21+ framework, but the exact requirement must be confirmed directly with the venue before travel.
The authoritative channel for these points is the venue's own entry, visit-planning, or house-policy information. If the site does not state the answer clearly, use the venue's contact channel and ask specifically about age, ID format, dress expectations, and whether any area has separate admission terms.
Documented straight-line distances from Yonkers city
Because the available location is the city rather than the property, all distance figures here are from Yonkers city centre. They are straight-line measurements only. Road distance is always longer, and this article does not publish road mileage.
| From | To | Distance | Measurement type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yonkers | Manhattan | 17.4 miles | Straight-line, city centre to city centre |
| Yonkers | New York City | 17.4 miles | Straight-line, city centre to city centre |
| Yonkers | Philadelphia | 96.6 miles | Straight-line, city centre to city centre |
| Yonkers | Atlantic City | 113.0 miles | Straight-line, city centre to city centre |
What to confirm before you go
For this specific query, the missing pieces are all the live operational ones: parking setup, the entrance tied to your arrival mode, whether any airport shuttle exists, whether a shuttle needs reservation, public transport coverage for your exact origin and return, and any group-trip conditions. None of those are stable enough to publish without a current venue or operator source.
Check the venue's own visitor information for parking, entrances, transportation notes, and entry requirements. Check the relevant transit operator if you are travelling by public transport, the airport's ground transport information if you are flying first, and the organiser's booking terms if you are using a charter or bus package.
FAQ
How far is Empire City Casino from Manhattan?
The documented figure available here is the straight-line distance from Yonkers to Manhattan: 17.4 miles. That is a city-centre-to-city-centre measurement, not a property-specific figure and not a road distance. If you need the practical trip length, you will need to measure from your exact starting point in Manhattan using a live map or transport planner.
Can I use public transport to get there from Manhattan?
This article can say that public transport is one of the arrival categories you should evaluate, but it cannot publish a route, stop sequence, or last-service detail. The important checks are whether the venue is within the practical service area for your chosen network and whether the return leg still works when you plan to leave.
Do I need ID or pay an entry charge to get in?
A casino venue may have entry conditions covering age minimums, accepted identification, dress expectations, and whether any part of the property uses separate admission terms. Those rules are set by the venue and can differ by jurisdiction and by area within a property. Confirm them on the venue's own policy or visit-planning channel before you travel.
Gambling can be addictive. If you need support, contact the helpline printed in the footer below.
Play responsibly
Gambling should be treated as paid entertainment, never as a way to earn income or recover losses. 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738)
18+ or 21+ depending on where you are; follow the minimum age that applies to you.
This article is general information about how these mechanics work. It is not legal advice and not a recommendation to gamble or to use any particular operator. Availability and legality differ by jurisdiction — check the rules that apply where you are.