“That”™s Entertainment” may become the new theme song for the Catskills if Louis Cappelli can do what he says he can do: resurrect the once-famous Borscht Belt from vacant to vital.
Thanks to efforts in both houses of the state Legislature on its last day in regular session, Cappelli will get the financial boost from New York state he”™s been seeking. In return for his company”™s proposed $1 billion investment in Sullivan County, the state will lower the tax rate for the VLT revenue that will be generated by Monticello Gaming”™s racino, which will be relocated to the Concord Hotel site.
On June 24, Gov. David Paterson, state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver hailed the agreement and gave kudos to the two Hudson Valley politicians who made it happen: state Sen. John Bonacic, R/C-Mt. Hope, and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, D-Forestburgh.
Dreams of casinos revitalizing the region have produced nothing over 30 years but unfulfilled promises and a growing number of boarded-up hotels, vacant storefronts and sagging bungalow colonies. The St. Regis-Mohawks, the last of the five Native-American groups who continued to try to work with Cappelli on the Entertainment City venture, found themselves out of the picture, the deal quashed by Dick Kempthorne, U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Cappelli, whose successes in White Plains and New Rochelle have replaced shoddy with chic, is ready to take on renovation of the Catskills, where jobs are scarce and homeowners can pay more in property taxes than for principal and interest on their houses.
Cappelli & Associates already owns the defunct Concord and Grossinger”™s resorts. In another deal with nearby Kutsher”™s Hotel, the developer paid $1 million to owner Mark Kutsher to keep his doors open so golfers have a place to stay while they use the courses at the two shuttered hotels as well as the one on Kutsher”™s 1,400-acre resort property.
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To sweeten the pot, Cappelli has given Kutsher a $2.5 million, nonrefundable down payment toward purchasing the resort, which has an asking price of $32 million.
David Hanlon, CEO of Empire Resorts, played a pivotal role in the Entertainment City equation, with Hanlon entering into a partnership with Cappelli and working to move the 1,500-plus gaming machine racino enterprise from Monticello to Liberty.
Concurrent with the racino”™s move is the relocation of Monticello Raceway, which, along with its racino, was steadily losing money at its current location. A new 5/8-mile trotters”™ track with all the latest racing accoutrements at Entertainment City should add to the tourist numbers Cappelli and company envision.
Entertainment City will be centered on the former Concord Hotel, where slow-but-steady demolition of its several multistory buildings has been underway for several weeks. Plans include retaining one of the Concord”™s buildings, a new conference center, a full-service upscale resort/hotel, several retail shops and restaurants, and renovation of at least one of the three existing golf courses Cappelli bought in the Concord/Grossinger transaction. (The Concord is also home to the famous “Monster” golf course, currently closed.) Add to that an abundance of planned family-friendly entertainment, right down to miniature golf and babysitting services and anyone from cradle to those teetering on the edge of eternity will be able to enjoy Cappelli”™s vision for Entertainment City.
In return for losing potential customers because of the raceway/racino relocation, Cappelli has promised to invest $11 million into downtown Monticello and to provide services for the redevelopment of the raceway”™s current site once it makes its 2 ½ mile move to Liberty. In addition, Cappelli”™s letter of April 11 to Monticello Mayor Gordon Jenkins says the village will receive $1 million a year for three years to upgrade current building facades and bring a fresh, new look to fading storefronts on Monticello”™s Main Street, welcome news to a village suffering from a dormant economy since the Catskills went bust in the 1970s.
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The proposal for Entertainment City has grown quickly from its original estimated $700 million cost to nearly $1 billion after all the concessions were made. That”™s when Cappelli started pitching for help at the state level in return for the investment.
Under the terms of the legislative agreement, in exchange for the state”™s support, Cappelli must create 2,000 permanent full-time jobs and pay the state either a minimum of $38 million annually from  the racino”™s revenue or one-quarter of the gaming revenues, whichever sum is greater. The money is earmarked for state educational funding, according to wording of Bonacic”™s bill S-8001. In addition, Entertainment City must be completed by January 31, 2011.
Cappelli, a major stakeholder in Empire Resorts, has repeatedly told the media he has no qualms about the future success of Entertainment City or finding financial backing, although the existing racino does not offer traditional gambling, at least not yet. Cappelli is certain the Catskills”™ Entertainment City will become a destination and bring back the hordes of visitors who once flooded the region to golf and take in a Buddy Hackett show.
Glenn Sutherland, lifelong resident and president of Catskill Hudson Bank based in Rock Hill, said, “Sullivan County has been talking about this kind of venture for several years. It”™s almost like we don”™t ever expect to really see it happen. I”™d love to see Entertainment City come here. And if it provides the kind of economic boost that”™s predicted, it”™s more than great news.”
Pete Gozza, owner of Gozza Graphics in Liberty and new director of the Sullivan County Partnership, the county”™s economic development arm, said, “Mr. Cappelli”™s performance-based incentive package as proposed to the Legislature makes sense. Entertainment City and the revitalization of downtown Monticello will certainly be more than a tremendous shot in the arm for our economy.”
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