“Casino Free Tyre” claimed Tyre’s officials listened to Lago Resort’s developers, instead of local residents.
New York State Judge Patrick Falvey rejected a legal challenge to the construction of the Lago Resort & Casino in the Finger Lakes region of the state. A citizens group from Seneca County called “Casino Free Tyre” argued that the Lago Resort would harm the local environment, if it is built in its current location.
Casino Free Tyre believes officials from the city of Tyre failed to consider the environmental damage the massive new casino would do in the Finger Lakes area. Of particular concern to residents is runoff from the casino, which they believe would poison local bodies of water. Members of Casino Free Tyre argued before Judge Patrick Falvey that the city officials did the bidding of casino developers and failed to investigate the wider damage such a casino might cause.
Failed to Show Tyre Officials’ Wrongdoing
Judge Falvey ruled that the activist group failed to show that the officials took any actions which would call on him reversing their decisions. A spokesman for the Lago Casino developers said they were pleased with the judge’s decision. Casino Free Tyre has not commented on Judge Falvey’s decision.
Thomas Wilmot Praises the Decision
Thomas C. Wilmot, chairman of developer Wilmorite and co-chairman of the Lago Resort & Casino, said in a press release, “We are excited that the pace of construction is increasing, as every day brings us closer to the opening of upstate New York’s newest and best resort and casino.”
Lago Resort is expected to open in 2017. It is one of three casino-resorts approved by the New York Gaming Commission, after the commission-appointed Siting Panel awarded licenses in December 2014. The other two licensed casinos are slated for Schenectady and the Catskills.
Oneida Indian Lawsuit
The environmental dispute is not the only legal challenge made against the Lago Resort. In 2015, the Oneida Indians filed a lawsuit against Lago, claiming a string of legal errors in the licensing process. The Oneida Indians operate a casino about 65 miles from the site of the Lago Resort. Their casino operations presumably would be harmed by the nearby competition. The Oneida casino, Turning Stone Resort Casino, has dominated the gaming culture in Central New York over the past two decades.
Turning Stone’s leaders saw the threat to their business immediately. Only four days after the Siting Panel’s licensing decision, Turning Stone announced it would open a slots palace 14 miles outside Syracuse on Route 5. The so-called “slots-in-a-box” establishment will be called the Yellow Brick Road Casino. Yellow Brick Road is expected to have 436 Vegas-style slot machines, along with a sizable Bingo hall.
About the Lago Resort
When it opens, the $425 million Lago Resort will be located 42 miles from Syracuse. Lago’s casino is expected to have 85 table games and 2,000 slot machines, which is about the same number of gaming machines and gaming tables as Turning Stone.
The Yellow Brick Road Casino is therefore designed as an economic firewall against Lago Resort, giving the gamblers in the Syracuse metropolitan area an option closer than the Lago Resort.
New York Casino Licensing Process
The New York State casino licensing process took two years to reach a decision. Voters approved a plan to include up to four casinos, which could be spread throughout three regions of the state: in the Catskills, the Southern Tier, and the Finger Lakes.
Besides the Lago Resort, the licensing panel chose the bid by Montreign Resort Casino in the Sullivan County town of Thompson, to be built by Empire Resort. The third license as given to Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady. Those three casinos are expected to create 3,200 permanent full-time jobs, generate $265 million in yearly tax revenues, and $136 million in licensing fees.
Later, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for a fourth casino to be licensed. After reconsideration, a fourth casino license was approved. In this case, the license was given to Jeffrey Gural’s Tioga Downs in New York’s Southern Tier. Tioga Downs has been a pari-mutuel racetrack under Gural’s guidance the past ten years, but the gaming commission licensed Tioga Downs to build a full-scale, $138 million resort casino on the site.
