On Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, New York’s Gaming Commission and the Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB) unanimously approved a request by Governor Andrew Cuomo to re-open bidding in the Southern Tier Region only, for a fourth casino license. The meeting was held in New York City. (Photo by Wendy Post)
On Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m., New York’s Gaming Commission and the Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB) unanimously approved a request by Governor Andrew Cuomo to re-open bidding in the Southern Tier Region only, for a fourth casino license. The conference was made available through a web cast delivered through the Gaming Commission website located at www.gaming.ny.gov.
The meeting, which was brief, opened the discussion of the Governor’s request for a fourth license issuance early on, with Kevin Law, chair of the GFLB, opening up the discussion to the Gaming Commission, as well as the members from the GFLB.
After several comments made by various members of the GFLB to the commission, it was decided and voted upon, unanimously, that they would honor the governor’s request to reopen bidding in the Southern Tier Region, which Tioga Downs in Nichols, N.Y. is a part of, as well as Traditions at the Glen, whom just pulled their intent to apply and have partnered with Tioga Downs in the hopes that they will be able to gain the fourth license.
But the decision was not made without comments from several of the various members, to include William Thompson from the GFLB, who once served as New York City’s Comptroller.
Thompson commended the GFLB for their efforts, stating that they stood by their recommendations, to include Lago Resort and Casino meeting the best criteria for the pick in the Southern Tier. He also added that it is “always good to have competition.”
He continued, “There are winners and losers in each location — contrary to the chest pounding going on.”
Thompson also defended their decisions by stating that the “mistake was not theirs” in the selection, and noted that he was sympathetic to the Southern Tier.
If there was any mistake by the GFLB, the group conjectured, it was in the statutes.
Chairman Kevin Law reiterated what was stated previously by board members, but also noted that the other proposals would need to be resubmitted via a Request for Application (RFA), and that others from outside the region will also be able to apply to offer some competition in the Southern Tier.
Stuart Rabinowitz, GFLB member, also stated that the board’s members did their best, but added, “If it were up to me, I think we should reopen [Southern Tier RFA for fourth license].
It was also noted, during the discussions, that the board serves as selected officials and have the ultimate say, but that it was not what the governor said, he wanted it opened.
“The other bids were not sufficient,” Law addressed to the board, and although criticized, he said they were proud of their efforts.
Law then motioned to approve honoring the governor’s request to open up the RFA process for a re-bid for a fourth license in the Southern Tier, which was seconded by Dennis Glazer, the GFLB member who recommended Lago Resort and Casino as the recipient of the Southern Tier License in Albany on Dec. 17.
The GLFB is now tasked with preparing a new RFA, and the next scheduled regular meeting of the Gaming Commission is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 26.
Following this news, Gary A. Greenberg, minority owner of Vernon Downs, a track in Vernon, N.Y. that is subsidized by Tioga Downs, described the board’s decision as good, as well as bad news.
Greenberg stated, “The good news is that new RFA will be asked for in the Southern Tier. The bad news is the board is continuing to ask for new bidders to come forward and compete with Tioga Downs. Tioga can be up and running in three months, while another bidder would have to wait for years to open. Let’s, see if Jeff Gural fine tunes his bid and shuts out any new potential bidders.”
In the meantime, a press conference was scheduled for Friday, Jan. 16, at 2 p.m. to be held at Tioga Downs.
The conference, scheduled to include Tioga Downs and Traditions at the Glen, who recently unified their efforts to obtain a fourth license in the Southern Tier, were expected to discuss how local businesses, residents, not-for-profit organizations, and others throughout the Southern Tier will specifically be impacted if the license is awarded to Tioga Downs.
Bill Walsh, principal owner of Traditions at the Glen; Tioga Downs’ owner Jeff Gural; and State Senator Tom Libous along with political leaders representing both Broome and Tioga County were expected to be in attendance.
The conference was also intended to provide an update regarding efforts taken to secure the fourth license for Tioga Downs.
In 2012, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo proposed an amendment to the State constitution to permit casino gaming. In November 2013, voters overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment.
On July 30, 2013, Governor Cuomo signed into law The Upstate New York Gaming Economic Development Act of 2013 (“Act”). The Act authorized up to four Upstate destination gaming resorts with at least one gaming facility located in three regions.
On Dec. 17, and after a grueling and expensive process from 16 applicants, the GFLB recommended only three licenses to Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor, owned by Capital Region Gaming, in Schenectady; The Montreign Resort Casino, in the town of Thompson in Sullivan County and operated by Empire Resorts for the region that encompasses the Catskills and Hudson Valley; and Lago Resort & Casino, in the town of Tyre, in Seneca County.
