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3 Casino Plans Accepted by New York State Board

By CHARLES V. BAGLI and JESSE McKINLEY

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DEC. 17, 2014

One of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos

signature initiatives, the expansion of
gambling in New York, took a major step forward on Wednesday, when a
state board recommended the approval of Las Vegas-style resort casinos in
the Catskills, near Albany
and in the central part of the state, ending an
eight-month review of 16 proposals.

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The
resorts, which would include boutique hotels, spas, golf courses, luxury
restaurants, water parks and other amenities, are expected to provide
thousands of jobs in troubled parts of the state and, according to one
estimate, generate over $300 million in new tax revenues.
The
board selected three proposals, one fewer than allowed under state law

and opted not to entertain any of the six proposals in Orange County, which
is the region closest to New York City. The board said a casino in
that
county would have undermined a resort in neighboring Sullivan County, to
the north.
The
three proposals selected were Montreign Casino and Adelaar Resort in

the Catskill town of Thompson, in Sullivan County; Rivers Casino in

Schenectady, near Albany; and Lago Casino in Tyre, a community in the

Finger Lakes region where the proposal had been strongly opposed by local
Amish residents.
Before the vote by the Gaming Facility Location Board, Mr. Cuomo
emphasized the economic benefits.
The risk is all on the private sector and we have only upside, he told
reporters.
A
main driving force behind the casinos, he added, is correcting for the
abandonment that upstate New York received.

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The selections were fraught, with complaints coming from

environmentalists, county officials and rival gambling operators.

Empire Resorts Unveils Plan for $750

Million Casino in Catskills

One
of the biggest fights was over the prospect of a casino in Orange County,
40 to 50 miles from Manhattan. There were six proposed, generating a
backlash from potential competitors, including the owner of
a slot parlor in
Yonkers and from more distant rivals in Sullivan County, where elected
officials have sought a casino since the collapse of the borscht belt resort

The Buy-In: Casino Plan Frays Ties

Between Amish and Neighbors

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/new-york-casino-resort-proposals.html[12/17/2014 3:41:39 PM]

MARCH 13, 2014

OCT. 5, 2014

3 Casino Plans Accepted by New York State Board - NYTimes.com

industry 40 years ago.

Indeed,
two developers in the Catskills dropped out of the contest, saying
that
the possibility of a casino in Orange County had undermined their

ability to obtain financing.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, embarked on a plan to legalize commercial casinos
shortly after he took office in 2011. The expansion of gambling in the state,
he said, would generate thousands of new jobs and a new stream of
revenue
for the state and cities and towns desperate to fill their coffers. Local
casinos would also recapture dollars now spent by New York gamblers in
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the governor said.
But
the gambling industry in the United States is no longer the guaranteed

gusher of jobs and tax revenues it once was. With nearly 1,000 commercial
and tribal casinos in 39 states, gambling halls are commonplace, no longer
an alluring novelty exclusive to Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
The
competition has become so intense in the Northeast that some Wall

Street analysts have described the region as saturated. And it is not just
from more casinos: The growth of Internet gambling and legal, online
sports betting has also meant fewer dollars to go around.
Gambling
revenues have been cut in half in Atlantic City since 2006, as

neighboring states got into the business. Four of the citys 12 casinos have
closed this year, putting more than 5,000 people out of work, and a fifth is
expected to turn out the lights this week.
Connecticuts two tribal casinos Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have also
fallen on hard times, stricken by overexpansion and layoffs.
Even in Pennsylvania, where the casino industry is just eight years old,
revenues have been essentially flat for the last two years.
Delaware
has initiated a bailout for its casinos. And with Massachusetts and
New
York planning to add Las Vegas-style casinos, legislators in

Connecticut and New Jersey are debating whether to develop even more

casinos to defend the market share they have left.

Nevertheless,
the Cuomo administration hopes to tap into New York Citys
52 million annual visitors and the densely packed communities
surrounding the city.
New York is already home to five smaller-scale Indian casinos upstate and
nine slot parlors at racetracks.
Our
focus has been to bring jobs and boost local economies in upstate New

York, where decades of decline have taken their toll in our communities,
Mr. Cuomo said in 2013 after the State Legislature approved commercial
casinos.
This new law will bring the state one step closer to establishing
world-class destination gaming resorts that will attract tourists to upstate
New York and support thousands of good paying jobs as well as new
revenue for local businesses.
Depending
on the location of the casino, the tax rate on gambling revenues
ranges
from 37 percent to 45 percent for slot machines and 10 percent for

table games. The bulk of the revenue, 80 percent, is earmarked for

elementary and secondary education or property tax relief, with the

remaining money split between municipal and county governments.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/new-york-casino-resort-proposals.html[12/17/2014 3:41:39 PM]

Casino Bidders Maneuver for

Advantage as New York Panel Plans
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In Upstate New York, Fight Pits

Gambling Empire vs. a Barons
Heirs OCT. 10, 2014

3 Casino Plans Accepted by New York State Board - NYTimes.com

Under
state law, the operators will have to pay a one-time licensing fee of

$20 million to $70 million, depending on the location.

The
states strategy was to allow up to four licenses for casino-resorts north
and west of the city. Sixteen developers, including
local real estate investors
and gambling companies like Caesars, Genting and Hard Rock, submitted
applications to the State Gaming Commission this year.
But despite the support of state voters, who easily passed a 2013 referendum

legalizing commercial casinos, several proposals met fierce grass-roots

resistance and lawsuits. Environmentalists had sued to stop a $1.5 billion
project near a state forest in Tuxedo, north of New York City, and Hasidic
leaders in Orange County sued to stop two other proposed casinos.
Economists,
analysts and some developers expect that shiny new casinos
located closer to New York City and Boston will be successful, at least for a

while.
Gaming
is about proximity, said David Cordish, a developer who proposed

a $750 million casino resort in Orange County, and won a license recently
for a $425 million casino in Philadelphia.
But
in more sparsely populated areas like upstate New York, the casino

resorts proposed seem to be self-contained operations, unlikely to lead to

new restaurants, shops and other businesses in the surrounding

communities.
Its
not really about economic development; its about tax revenue, said
Richard McGowan, an economics professor at Boston College who studies
the gambling industry, referring to state taxes the casinos will have to pay.
The reality is that state government will make money.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/new-york-casino-resort-proposals.html[12/17/2014 3:41:39 PM]

3 Casino Plans Accepted by New York State Board - NYTimes.com

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/new-york-casino-resort-proposals.html[12/17/2014 3:41:39 PM]

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