While most of us go through life not wanting to be alone, the same might not apply to Jeff Gural, owner of Tioga Downs, who is currently the only person with a bid for a potential fourth casino license in the state of New York. Tioga Downs, although rejected for a license in December, has put forth a proposal for the New York State Gaming Commission.
Gural said, “We’ve been working the past few weeks to figure out how to improve our application.” He added, “I can hire 800 to 1,000 people within six months. People need jobs now.”
Another region which lost out on a license was the Capital Region, but may be in the running for a project in the neighborhood of $55 million where the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino would have been built had it won a license. The Capital District Off-Track president, John Signor estimates a gaming center would haul in $72 million in revenue while creating 500 jobs. Rensselaer Mayor Dan Dwyer said, “We need assistance from the state. This would do it.”
The Capital region currently has 3,000 video lottery terminals between the Saratoga Casino and Raceway and Rivers Casino and Resort. The proposal would add 1,000 more. “It’s going to help the city. It would create jobs,” Dwyer said.
For those who were lucky enough to win a license, such as the $1.1 billion Montreign Resort Casino, plans are moving along, and in the case of Montreign, the prep work is moving along fast. The 8,000-foot-road leading up to the 1,700-acre resort has been turned into land parallel to Route 17.
The speed has been in part due to a fear that at any day, there might be a possible ban on the cutting of trees which could host a bat on the brink of being endangered, the northern long-eared bat. EPR project manager Tim Lies said, “We can’t lose any good building time.”
The casino-resort’s infrastructure will be handled by Yonkers Contracting, and begin in April. The construction, however, will not begin until all proper background checks are done on the casino operators and owners. New York State Gaming Commission spokesman Lee Park said, “We’re moving as expeditiously as possible. However, there are certain statutory goals that have to be met.”
Some of the people who will receive background checks are finding their patience tested, especially considering some of them own the Monticello Raceway and Casino. The three months it has taken so far though is nothing, as the industry standard is anywhere from six to nine months on a license of this size. The background check is quite invasive, and has been compared by some industry leaders to a colonoscopy.
