MGM unexpectedly withdrew its casino bid on Tuesday, whittling down the competition for the three coveted licenses in downstate New York to just, well, three. The company, which owns the Empire City Casino and Yonkers Raceway, claimed that the abrupt about-face was a financial calculation: The apparent return on building a full-blown casino at a cost of $2.3 billion didn't look as good as it did when the company submitted its proposal in June. "The competitive and economic assumptions underpinning our application have shifted," MGM said in a statement.