Although the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board did not back a project for the construction of a casino in East Greenbush, town officials gathered together to make sure that the proposal was indeed history.
All Town Board members voted in favor to rescind a resolution that was issued in June 2014 and supported the establishment of a gambling venue in East Greenbush. In December 2015, the New York State Gaming Commission awarded a license for the Capital Region to the proposed Rivers Casino and Resort at Schenectady’s Mohawk Harbor.
As for the East Greenbush project, it was proposed by Saratoga Casino and Gaming and partner Churchill Downs Inc. They wanted to build a $300-million hotel and casino resort in the town. The project had quite a lot of proponents, including Supervisor Keith Langley, whose administration issued the June 2014 resolution in support for the gambling venue.
However, many East Greenbush residents staunchly opposed the proposal and even protested at the hearings with the state gambling regulator in December 2014, just before the Gaming Facility Location Board announced its decision to back the construction of three casinos in Upstate New York. Save East Greenbush, as the group of opponents called itself, said that poorly organized financial records, lack of transparency, and low bond ratings were among the reasons why it was against the $300-million project.
As for Supervisor Langley and other town officials at that time, they believed that a gambling venue in East Greenbush would have provided much-needed revenue. According to their prognosis, the casino would have annually contributed $5.7 millions to the town.
And even though the state gambling regulator granted the casino license for the Capital Region to Schenectady and Rivers Casino and Resort, the current East Greenbush Town Board decided to rescind the 2014 resolution. Thus, officials wanted to ensure everyone concerned that no casino will be built in the town anytime soon.
The Town Board meeting was attended by more than 80 East Greenbush residents and the positive rescind vote was greeted with applause by most of the people in attendance.
Apart from Rivers Casino and Resort, the New York State Gaming Commission licensed two more projects for casinos in Upstate New York – Lago Resort and Casino in the Finger Lakes region and Montreign Resort Casino in the Catskills area.
