With New York allowing for one more casino license, you would think many of the 10 rejected proposals from last December would decide to roll the dice again, to put a project in the Southern Tier Region. Up until Tuesday, only Tioga Downs and owner Jeff Gural had announced interest in seeking a license, formally submitting plans for a 5 million expansion of the racetrack casino already operating.
Binghamton lawmakers, meanwhile, unanimously approved a resolution which would support a casino in their city during a special council meeting, after an Albany based-developer came forward ready to submit a proposal.
Jeffrey Hyman, the Binghamton casino project manager said, “I think I’ve been able to take a lot from the 2014 process to heart and use it very constructively in this place and continue to do so.” The project would be built where the former Stow Manufacturing Company was, an area considered to be a great central location.
Not everyone shares those sentiments, and many feel an established property like Tioga Downs has the advantage of already being established, as opposed to Binghamton, which is essentially starting from scratch. Binghamton Mayor Richard David called the potential casino a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” giving the region a chance to transform.
“We’re talking about a significant amount of money when it comes to gaming revenue, when it comes to property taxes, when it comes to job creation, when it comes to overall investment in the North Side of the city of Binghamton and all the ancillary economic development opportunities that will spin off of this catalytic project,” David said.
Gural was quite critical of the Binghamton proposal, especially when it comes to the lack of public input regarding the proposal, when he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard such an unbelievably ridiculous process when a major issue like whether a casino should be built in an environmental dump is made with no public input.”
Gural’s application filed last week includes elements left out of his first application, which was rejected last year. The $145 million would be invested in a hotel, table games, 200 additional slot machines, two restaurants, and expansions and upgrades to the casino and a nearby golf course.
Most importantly, says Gural, the casino could be completed much more quickly than any of the other three facilities already approved.
“We would be hiring people almost immediately,” he said, adding that several hundred additional employees would be required for his development.
