The New York state Senate has approved Hobart and William Smith Colleges President Mark Gearan as the chairman of the New York State Gaming Commission. Gearan will direct the process of choosing the first four of seven Class III casino licensees in the Empire State.
The first four casinos will be located upstate. It is the first phase of a casino expansion plan authorized by New York voters last November. The plan, developed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, changed the state constitution to allow seven new commercial gaming halls statewide.
“My pledge to you is to bring integrity to the process, to bring transparency to the process,” Gearan said.
According to the Albany Times-Union, Senator Liz Krueger gave Gearan a copy of the 317-page Inspector General’s report on a previous bidding process that was marred and ultimately derailed by allegations of backdoor dealing and political favoritism. In that process, Aqueduct Entertainment Group was first selected to run the racino at Aqueduct Raceway in Queens, and then ousted. That license eventually went to Genting.
The Gaming Commission officially appointed former City Comptroller William Thompson, Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz and veteran political adviser Paul Francis to the Resort Gaming Facility Location Board.
The casino bids are due in June, and the first of the gaming halls could open as early as next year.
