Board Recommends Three Upstate Casinos; None in Orange County

ALBANY, NY—In a surprise decision, the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board decided not to recommend any of the six gaming proposals in Orange County and instead awarded just one casino for the Catskill/Hudson Valley Region in Sullivan County at the Concord Hotel property in the Town of Thompson.

The Gaming Facility Location Board is recommending to the New York State Gaming Commission that the Montreign Resort Casino proposed by a partnership of Empire Resorts and EPR Properties be awarded a casino license for the Catskills/Hudson Valley region. State officials say the Montreign Resort project will involve a capital investment of $630 million.

The location board will recommend a total of three applicants for casino licensure. The New York State Gaming Law allowed for the location board to recommend up to four casino proposals for the three upstate districts under consideration: Catskills/Hudson Valley, Capital, and Eastern Southern Tier/Finger Lakes regions. The board is also recommending the Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady in the Capital region and the Lago Resort and Casino in the Town of Tyre in the Eastern Southern Tier/Finger Lakes region be granted casino licenses.

Gaming Facility Location Board Chairman Kevin Law at the board's session on Wednesday said that the board decided to first recommend the award of one casino in either Sullivan or Ulster County. It then considered perhaps recommending a second casino applicant from Orange County.

“Through research and analysis we concluded that a license award to any of the six Orange County proposals would present too great a risk of precluding success of a project in Sullivan or Ulster County,” Law said. He added that there were other factors that weighed against the Orange County proposals, including local opposition, environmental concerns with proposed sites that threatened to delay the delivery of the projects, traffic concerns as well as financial issues with some of the applicants.

“Moreover, because of their proximity to New York City, granting a license to any of the Orange County proposals would have resulted in the cannibalization of existing downstate gaming facilities,” Law said. The chairman added that the location board decided against recommending a second casino location in either Sullivan or Ulster County because of adverse impacts each would have on the other.

Empire Resorts, Inc. has proposed to develop the Montreign Resort Casino within a planned destination resort known as Adelaar in the Town of Thompson in Sullivan County. The gaming facility features an 18-story casino, hotel and entertainment complex featuring an 86,300 square-foot casino with 61 gaming tables, 2,150 slot machines, 391 hotel rooms and multiple dining and entertainment options, with several meeting spaces. The Adelaar development would also feature an indoor waterpark, hotel, an “entertainment village” with dining and retail outlets, a golf course and significant residential development. Company offiicials told the location board the Adelaar project could potentially involve several hundred million dollars in additional development.

“It's a great day for Empire Resorts, the resilient residents of Sullivan County, and our co-developer EPR Properties,” said Emanuel Pearlman, Empire's chairman in response to its selection by the location board. “Today's decision by the Board is an important next step as we finalize our plans to attract tourism to Upstate New York and create thousands of good paying jobs as well as new revenue for local businesses. We thank the Board for their hard work in vetting these applications, and their decision is very much valued and appreciated. After receiving all final regulatory approvals, we will break ground as soon as possible on what will truly be a Catskills destination reborn.”

Capital Region Gaming, LLC, on behalf of local developer Neil Bluhm and The Galesi Group, has proposed to develop the $300-million Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor on the Mohawk River in the City of Schenectady in Schenectady County. The facility would reside on a 60-acre waterfront location with a 50,000-square-foot casino featuring 1,150 slot machines and 66 gaming tables. The facility would host a high-end steakhouse and other casual and light fare restaurants, an entertainment lounge, a banquet facility and a spa. A proposed “Four Points by Sheraton-” or “Aloft-” branded hotel would feature 150 rooms and be in addition to a planned 124-room hotel being developed on the northern portion of the Mohawk Harbor project, state officials said.

The Rivers casino project resides within a $150-million mixed-use waterfront development being completed by The Galesi Group. In total, the Mohawk Harbor project will combine residential, commercial and retail uses as well as a new harbor, riverfront trails and open spaces.

Lago Resort & Casino, a partnership of Wilmot Gaming, LLC and PGP Investors, LLC, will be developed in the Town of Tyre in Seneca County. Lago's facility would include a 94,000-square-foot casino with 2,000 slot machines and 85 gaming tables, 207 hotel rooms, multiple restaurants and lounges featuring local fare and a spa.

Lago's proposed total capital investment of $425 million far exceeded the proposed capital investment of the other two applicants in the region, the location board noted.