Tioga Downs owner Jeff Gural succeeded in winning state approval to expand his racino into a full-scale casino operations, but must wait to get his formal license.
The New York State Gaming Commission on October 14 endorsed Gural’s plan, which initially was rejected last year in favor of three other gaming operations but won a reprisal after state gaming officials decided to issue a fourth gaming permit in the Southern Tier.
The Gaming Commission’s endorsement came after months of public hearings and revised proposals to ensure no environmental harm would occur and it would be beneficial for local communities.
Gural wants to begin construction as soon as possible and hopes to have some gaming tables in operation within six months of obtaining his gaming license. He plans to add a 161-room hotel, restaurants, and an outdoor concert venue to the site’s current racetrack and slot machine parlor in Nichols, which is about 30 miles west of Binghamton.
Although Gural has his plan in place, he, like three proposed casinos in the Finger Lakes, Catskills, and Schenectady, must wait until the Gaming Commission conducts criminal background checks on the casino operators before issuing formal gaming licenses to proceed, and no timeline was announced regarding that final step.
Although the licenses must await absolute final approval, a local lawmaker heralded the endorsement as a significant achievement.
“It’s a long-awaited, positive decision for the Southern Tier,” state Senator Tom O’Mara said in a statement.
“A new and expanded Tioga Downs will bolster one of the state’s most struggling regional economies. It will preserve important livelihoods for hundreds of workers, create new jobs, and generate badly needed revenue to provide additional support for education and local governments and to help ease the burden on local property taxpayers.”
An economic impact study indicates the expanded Tioga Downs casino would generate about $32 million in projected gaming tax revenues and create 1,100 jobs, while boosting local tourism dollars as well as local family incomes through increased jobs.
New York Governor Mario Cuomo favors casino expansion in the Southern Tier, which is an economically depressed rural region located along the Pennsylvania border and once housed several manufacturing plants.
The companies closed years ago, the area’s population plummeted from more than 80,000 in 1950 to about 46,000 today, many of whom have struggled to find good jobs.
The Tioga Downs casino proposal generally received favorable support from locals who have been desperate for economic improvements.
