The New York Gaming Facility Location Board released an 800-page report on its decision to back only three of all sixteen bidders for casino licenses on the territory of the state during a meeting, which took place yesterday in Manhattan.
The Board stated that some of the main reasons why it rejected those thirteen projects were the fact that some had quite unsuitable locations, and others posed serious risks to the environment and to certain animal species.
Kevin Law, chairman of the Board, shared during the meeting that they had tried to make the best possible choice. He also said he was well-aware of the fact that their decision would meet serious backlash from the losing bidders.
As previously reported, back on December 17, 2014, the state Gaming Facility Location Board gave the nod to Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, Lago Resort & Casino in Tyre, and Montreign Resort Casino in Thompson.
During the yesterday meeting, the board explained why the other thirteen bidders were rejected.
For instance, a total of six projects for the Orange County area were not backed. The reasons for this included the strong opposition from residents of the area, the risks that any of the casinos would have posed to the environment, economic and traffic concerns, etc.
Malaysian gambling operator Genting had proposed two casino projects for Orange County. The board pointed that they both were rejected partly because of the fact that the company already owns a large racino venue in Queens.
Caesars Entertainment, yet another major company, that had expressed interest in operating a casino in the Orange County area, was not backed due to its financial problems.
The casino project in Sullivan County, proposed by the Mohegan Tribe, was not approved by the board for it was concerned that owners might try to attract their New York customers to the Mohegan Sun venue in Connecticut.
The board also pointed out that some of the bidders were rejected due to the fact that their venues would have seriously endangered the population of bats in the respective areas.
During its meeting, the board also announced that it is planning to open the bidding for a casino in Southern Tier. It, however, emphasized that no license might be granted, in case the bidders present the board with mediocre applications.
Mr. Law shared that the board hopes for competition. Previously, there were only three bidders for a casino license in the area and he pointed out that they do not expect that more proposals are to arise.
A few weeks ago, it was reported that, at present, the Tioga Downs project is the only potential bid. The board revealed that the casino proposal did not get its approval due to the fact that it was inferior to the proposed Lago Resort & Casino. Owners of the latter venue offered an investment totaling $425 million. As for Jeff Gural, owner of Tioga Downs, he stated that the amount of $100 million had already been spent on the project.
