A protest held at the New York Capitol in Albany urged state Gaming Commission to reject the license application for the proposed Lago Resort and Casino, which a state location board approved last year but awaits completion of background checks before a gaming license is approved.
The proposed casino is one of four awaiting licensing from state officials, but so far is the only one drawing strong opposition from local residents as well as a the Oneida Nation, which has its own gaming operations in New York.
The Oneida Nation and other opponents of the Lago casino project say it won’t have a true economic benefit and instead will only transfer gaming and jobs from one part of the state to another. The protestors say existing casinos would lose $105 million in gambling revenues if the Lago casino is approved, and 2,500 jobs current jobs would be lost.
Assemblyman Anthony Drindisi said the state law allowing gaming operations in Upstate New York is intended to “create new jobs, not to shift jobs from one community to another,” the Oneida Dispatch reported.
Joining the protest were workers from the Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack and Turning Stone gaming operations in Upstate New York. They say the proposed full casino in Tyre would cost them their jobs and harm local economies dependent upon existing gaming operations.
The state is expected to issue up to four gaming licenses to proposed casino projects in rural areas by the end of the year, in hopes of boosting local economies that could not recovered when prior manufacturing jobs left the area.
Although facing stiff opposition, Vernon Downs minority owner Steve Greenburg said the protests are “phony” and are sponsored by the Oneida Nation and Finger Lakes Gaming, in order to protect their own gaming operations.
“While the Oneidas and Delaware North resort to their phone campaign, our focus remains clear: Build the best resort and casino in all of Upstate,” Greenburg said in a statement.
While Greenburg calls the opposition phone, Vernon Downs owner Jeff Gural, said the company has not taken an official position on the matter and he trusts “state regulators will determine the appropriate course of action on the project once all the factors are considered.”
The Lago Casino would be located right next to a state-designated area giving the Oneida Nation a monopoly on gaming within the territory, but the nearby Lago casino would create previously non-existent competition.
In the meantime, work continues on the casino project in the Finger Lakes Area, with its foundation being laid during the end of November, with a planned opening of the casino and hotel in Tyre sometime in 2017.
