The New York casino establishment procedure has faced a new setback. Officials of the racetrack and video lottery terminal racino, located in the western part of the state, have entered a legal battle and accused state authorities of having made inadequate decision related to the casino establishment in the region. Back in 2014, the developer interested in completing the casino project was approved for a license.
The venue is supposed to be located in Tyre and it is expected to cause serious troubles to the Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack situated in a close proximity to the future property.
According to people with knowledge on the matter, the new casino would become the leader on the local gambling market, which therefore, means that the neighboring casino venues will be left with no chance of survival.
The lawsuit filed by the racetrack officials claims that while considering the advantages and disadvantages of granting a casino license, members of the Location Board had apparently failed in paying attention to all economic and business factors applicable to the region.
In response, the members of the Board said that in December 2014, they backed three casino licenses with the aim of preventing tough competition and minimizing the devastating effect a newly-established casino might have on the revenues of the surrounding properties.
In a special statement released to cast light on the legal battle, Steve Martin, the Senior Marketing Director of Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack, announced that the Lago casino will definitely have a devastating effect on the revenues of the neighboring casinos. In addition, smaller venues will have no choice but to reduce the staff they employ.
A representative of the Gaming Commission remained tight-lipped and refused to provide the media with information concerning a “pending litigation”.
Steve Greenberg, the representative of Lago, was also reluctant to discuss the legal proceedings, either. Yet, he announced that Lago executives are impatient to complete the project.
Actually, this is not the first lawsuit filed against the construction of the Lago Casino. Lawmakers and business owners from Southern Tier have already expressed their opinion about the project and said that the location was not very well-thought-out. What is more, they urged the Location Board to reconsider both the casino location and the procedure for granting a fourth license.
Last year, Lago Resort & Casino in Tyre, Montreign Resort Casino in Thompson and Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady received Location Board approval but they are yet to be awarded licenses.
