New York Officials Announced Licenses for Tyre, Monticello, and Schenedtady
On Wednedsday, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board announced who would win the licenses for Las Vegas-style casinos in the Catskills, on the northern end of the Finger Lakes, and near Albany. The announcement ended months of rivalry and speculation, after 16 gaming companies and developers applied for the licenses. The new casinos are expected to generate between $300 million and $430 million for the state each year, depending on the estimate.
Each the gaming facilities is expected to be an integrated resort in the style of those on the Las Vegas Strip. Each is expected to include luxury restaurants, golf resorts, spas, and boutique hotels. The original concept was to place several integrated resorts in economically distressed regions of the state, to help create jobs and boost those local economies. A great deal of controversy surrounded whether New York’s officials would follow that plan or go for the big revenues of a casino near New York City, but the original idea was followed.
Market Saturation Considered
The Gaming Facility Location Board took into account the market saturation that has caused land-based casinos in Connecticut and New Jersey to struggle. Ten years ago, Pennsylvania allowed casino gambling at their racetracks and in large casinos like the Sands Bethlehem. Since then, fewer gamblers have traveled to Atlantic City or the huge Native American casinos in Connecticut, such as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. The Indian casinos have scaled back operations significantly, while 4 of 12 New Jersey casinos have closed their doors in 2014. A fifth, Trump Taj Mahal, is expected to close soon.
With that in mind, the casino panel declined to provide the maximum number of licenses. The people of New York had voted for up to 4 licenses throughout 3 regions, but only 3 licenses were offered. Many believed a lucrative casino would be built in Orange County, only 50 miles from New York City.
No Orange County Casino
The applications for the outlying casinos tended to be in the $300 million to $400 million range, while the applications for the Orange County casinos were in the $700 million to $1.5 billion range. Despite the mass of jobs such building projects would have created, the Gaming Facility Location Board decided it was not in the best interests of the state to approve such a license.
That leaves 6 different companies who applied for an Orange County license out of the process. Those were the most prominent gaming companies, including Caesars Entertainment out of Las Vegas and huge multinational conglomerate Genting Group Ltd out of Malaysia, which had the $1.5 billion bid.
Montreign Resort Casino
Instead, the panel approved a casino for the single license applicant in adjacent Sullivan County, citing economic development reasons. The announcement of the license for the forthcoming Montreign Resort Casino near Monticello caused celebration among residents of the Catskills.
State Senator John J. Bonacic, whose district includes most of the Catskills, said “For 50 years, the Sullivan County Catskills have sought gaming as a way to grow our tourism-based economy. And now that moment is here.”
The Montreign Resort Casino will be built on the site of the Old Concord Resort. Its developer will be Empire Resorts, which is itself tied to the Genting Group. Montreign is expected to cost the most to build. Taking the place of the Orange County casino, its costs are expect to be in the $630 million range. It will include a 351-room hotel, golf course, entertainment venues, and high priced restaurants.
Lago Resort & Casino
The Lago Resort and Casino is the second of the licenses offered. Lago Resort will be located in Tyre in the Finger Lakes regions. The $450 million resort will have a 207-room hotel, a 1,700-seat theater, and thousands of slot machines. The developers for Lago is Wilmerite, which overcame opposition by a local group of concerned residents, including the nearby Amish community.
Rivers Casino in Schenectady
Rivers Casino was the choice of the casino panel for the Albany Region. The $300 million casino complex is expected to have a 150-room hotel, a banquet hall, and its own suite of restaurants. The developers for the Rivers Casino is Rush Street Gaming, a New York-based outfit.
The announcements are said to be a big relief to Atlantic City casino owners. The exclusion of Orange County allows the Boardwalk casinos to keep most of their remaining customer base, according to conventional logic. One reason Caesars Entertainment was in the bidding for Orange County was to collect the license, in case it was offered, to protect its 3 remaining casino operations in Atlantic City.
