In October of last year, dignitaries and members from the media gathered at Tioga Downs in Nichols, N.Y. to celebrate the opening of their brand new parking garage. The parking garage, according to Jeff Gural, CEO & Chairman of American Racing and Entertainment and owner of Tioga Downs, represented the completion of Phase One of Tioga Downs’ expansion project. (Photo by Wendy Post)
On Tuesday, June 30, the Binghamton City Council held a special meeting at City Hall, called by Binghamton’s Mayor Richard David, to vote on a Resolution to support the establishment of a casino at the Stow Manufacturing Site in Binghamton, N.Y. The city council voted to approve the Resolution, but did not allow for any public comment during this meeting.
What was not disclosed during the meeting was the potential operator for any perceived build at the old Stow Manufacturing Site.
What we do know, is that in May, Hyman Hemispherics LLC applied for a Brownfield Tax Credit for the former manufacturing property located at the corner of Montgomery and Frederick Streets in Binghamton, N.Y.
Jeffrey Hyman is an Albany-area businessman who led an unsuccessful bid for a Schoharie County casino last year. There has been no formal announcement, however, on an application forthcoming for a build at that site, and applications are due by July 6.
This meeting puts the City of Binghamton one step closer to their plans to bring in a bidder for the fourth gaming license. This support resolution was a requirement of the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB) as part of the application process.
In March, the New York State Gaming Commission approved a fourth license to be awarded for a Southern Tier Casino. Jeff Gural, CEO of American Racing and Entertainment, and owner of Vernon Downs in Vernon, N.Y.; Tioga Downs in Nichols, N.Y.; and Meadowlands Race Track in New Jersey has been the only applicant to announce they will be applying for this license for Tioga Downs in Nichols, N.Y, and was the only applicant that fielded questions during a recent question and answer session regarding the Request For Application (RFA) process, which ends on July 6.
If another applicant steps forward in Binghamton, this would lower the odds for Gural’s bid.
Gural, upon learning that city council approved the resolution called their actions “a joke.” Gural stated, “They [city council] should be embarrassed that they approved a project behind closed doors without any information to the public.”
Upon learning about the special meeting on Monday, Gural also commented on the speculation of a potential bidder. “I think it is a disgrace that a bidder would wait until the last second so the public can ‘t comment,” said Gural, adding, “Every other town in the original fifteen applications for new construction had public hearings and examined environmental and traffic issues. Any community that allows a project of this nature on one day’s notice is foolish.”
Tioga Downs in Nichols, N.Y. subsidizes Vernon Downs in Vernon, N.Y., and both regions will face economic and financial distress if Tioga Downs is not awarded the fourth casino license.
Gary A. Greenberg, minority owner of Vernon Downs Casino and hotel gaming expert, stated, “The vote was decided behind closed doors. The citizens had no input. The vote does not meet the threshold of community support and transparency as prescribed by the Governor and legislature. It was a shameful vote to place a casino on an environmental hazard site without any planning board input.”
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, 2014, and after a grueling and expensive process from 16 applicants, the Gaming Facility Location Board 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. Lago Resort & Casino was a Southern Tier applicant.
Following further appeals to award a license to the ‘true’ Southern Tier, the Gaming Commission adopted a recommendation from the GFLB to open the Southern Tier up for bidding on one more license.
Traditions at the Glen in Johnson City, N.Y. had been a contender, but dropped their application and partnered with Tioga Downs in support of their efforts.
The July 6 date is nearing, when RFA’s from bidders are due to the Gaming Commission. A decision on who will be awarded the fourth license will be announced this fall.
