To the Residents of Liberty and Sullivan County:

Over the last thirty years, there have been attempts by developers, state lawmakers and other elected
officials to recapture the heyday of Catskills tourism and to restore the region to the destination that it
once was. Unfortunately, these attempts were coupled with broken promises, government bureaucracy,
declining economies and failed projects. Through it all, the people of Sullivan County waited and
continued to work to support these redevelopment efforts. It was the awareness and appreciation of that
support that guided us as we approached our latest project at Grossingers. We knew that a lot of people in
this community were counting on us, and that our bid to build a new destination resort in Liberty needed
to be based on the best, most viable project possible, and it was important not to promise something we
couldnt build.
Having spent the last thirteen months designing and developing the ideal destination resort and casino
project, we truly believe that we have all the elements for a spectacular venue. Our proposal promotes
tourism and economic development, while respecting the environment. We planned a spectacular
gaming space matched only by the spectacular views outside; a 350-room hotel; a destination resort with
outdoor activities designed to capitalize on the natural beauty of the Catskills: hiking, fishing, swimming,
kayaking, canoeing, tennis, soccer, basketball, baseball, an equestrian center, golf and campground.
We sought out opportunities to develop local partnerships with local businesses to provide goods and
services, and with job training and readiness programs. We also hammered out agreements with the
operating unions and construction trades. We knew our site had the infrastructure, the water, the sewer,
the visibility and the transportation access to make it an ideal resort location.
We worked to garner local support: petitions, emails, letters from local residents and business owners
were forthcoming. We were extremely grateful for the resolutions expressing support from the town,
village and county, and from the economic development professionals, and the messages we regularly
received that our site should be a contender. We felt the excitement and we shared the optimism, that
finally, at Grossingers, we could develop a casino resort that could stimulate the economy.
Unfortunately the mere prospect of a casino in Orange County has made securing the required financing
from the banks and other equity partners impossible. We always approached this project by assuming
that there would be two casinos in the Catskills, but what we didnt plan for, and cannot compete with, is
a casino project in Orange County. Such a location would siphon off the business and guests we
projected would come to Grossingers. To the credit of the NYS Gaming Commission, they have
developed a program to help level the playing field. They developed different licensing fees and minimal
capital investments for different locations; allowed for a binding alternative if a casino were to be built in
Orange County; and they made it clear that speed to completion was important and that SEQRA would
impact a projects selection. Unfortunately, this did not provide a level of comfort necessary to potential
financing partners. As such, our financing challenges have proven to be too great, and we will not be
submitting a bid on a project that we cannot complete and will be suspending our efforts at this time.
Everyone at Muss Development and Foxwoods Resort Casino would like to express our sincere
appreciation to various elected officials and local leaders for their time and effort. Town Supervisor
Charlie Barbuti and Village Mayor Daniel Ratner Sr. showed tremendous leadership in supporting our
project while protecting Town and Village resources at the same time. Chairman of the County
Legislature Scott Samuelsson, Legislator Cora Edwards and the rest of the Sullivan County Legislature
continue to work hard for the county in ensuring that everyone benefits from proposed development in the
region and that the full resources of the County are behind all of the proposed projects. We also want to
thank Marc Baez, President of the Sullivan County Partnership, Robert Byron- Lockwood, President of
the Sullivan County Visitors Association and Heinrich Strauch, Executive Director of the Liberty CDC,
for their tireless efforts and support in coordinating with local businesses and tourism agencies. Each and
every one of your local leaders has been working diligently and strategically in support of our project and
we cant thank them enough.
We particularly want to thank Governor Cuomo, Senator Bonacic, Assemblywoman Gunther and all of
the State Legislative leaders for their tremendous leadership and recognition that the key to upstate
economic development is to create a burgeoning tourism resort destination that supports the entire
Catskill/Hudson Valley region. Without their work, we never would have had the opportunity to have
come this far and the other potential projects in this area would never have come to fruition. It is clear
that there is tremendous interest in gaming and tourism in the New York market, and we believe that the
selected projects will be a success.
We very much hope that one of the remaining projects vying for a license will be selected in Sullivan
County, and that it will bring the desired boost to the local economy so we will have an opportunity to
create a meaningful development at Grossingers in the future.
Finally, we want to thank the residents of Liberty and Sullivan County for their time, kindness and
support.
With gratitude
Muss Development and Foxwoods Resort Casino