A dozen years after the Catskills region was promised three casinos ”“ and none arrived ”“ the governor”™s office this month released a plan to revive the process across upstate New York.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed breaking the state into six districts, three of which would be awarded full-blown casinos. Westchester and Rockland counties, the five boroughs and Long Island are excluded, as are current Indian gaming enterprises.
Prospective developers of the gaming resorts should expect to spend a minimum of $250 million to $500 million in capital investment.
“This has such a long history,” said Jonathan Drapkin, president and CEO of Pattern for Progress, the Newburgh-based planning and advocacy nonprofit. “We have been at it for so long neither the upside is as big as it once was nor the downside so bad. As states like Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have gotten into gambling, the market shrinks. But the total negatives ”“ things like traffic and unknowns associated with casinos ”“ have gone down. Let”™s come up with a thoughtful way to say where and let”™s have at it.”
“You hear of the negatives of things like traffic,” said Laurence Gottlieb, president and CEO of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. for the past two months and previously economic development director for Westchester County. “The reality is that what usually follows is investment in critical infrastructure.”
The driving force behind the governor”™s initiative, according to Gottlieb, is “the competitive nature of gaming” among revenue-seeking states.
“Nevada has many levels of gambling, from slots in the airport to the full casinos,” he said. “It is far more bifurcated than it used to be, from the occasional scratch game player to the sophisticated individual who flies in from another country to play baccarat. There has to be room for all of it. From an economic development perspective, if it brings more jobs and more tax revenue, it is great for overall economic development.”
Said Drapkin: “The people in the industry know the tendencies of their customers. This presents the potential for other businesses to come in to serve them. It”™s time to move the discussion forward. Let”™s see if we can find three well-placed, well-financed sites.”
Gottlieb grew up going to the former Concord Resort Hotel ”“ which is being remade and would be in the running ”“ and called it “a wonderful site.”
“The Concord plan for a destination resort mirrors what”™s being done in Connecticut and Pennsylvania,” he said. “You need to make it a destination with more than just gambling and the developer” ”“ Kansas City, Mo.-based EPR Properties ”“ “is in a good place for this philosophically.”
Brian Moriarty, a spokesman for EPR Properties, which is partnering on the Concord redevelopment with Empire Resorts Inc. in Monticello, declined to comment on Cuomo”™s plan.
“Certainly we are aware of the governor”™s proposal,” he said. “We feel we”™re in a good position where we are, but we have no specific comments on the proposal.”
A real estate investment trust, EPR counts ski resorts, cinema complexes, golf and water parks and charter schools among its properties. A former development partner in Westchester of Louis Cappelli and Valhalla-based Cappelli Enterprises Inc., EPR is now sole owner of the New Roc City entertainment and retail complex in New Rochelle and a former owner of City Center in White Plains.
The Concord, at Kiamesha Lake in the town of Thompson, could be a launch site for the casino proposal. The town has completed its environmental reviews and has green-lighted the planned hotel, horse-racing oval and golf course.
“The Concord is in good shape with the town and in good shape financially,” Drapkin said. “Even if it were built to a modest scale, it would help Ulster, Orange and Sullivan counties. It would be hard to say with the Concord that it is not well-placed or that it”™s a bad thing.”
The governor, though, will not ultimately decide the fate of his proposal. “The Legislature will decide,” Gottlieb said. “It”™s up to them” to submit the gaming proposal to New York voters as a ballot referendum.
The state senator most closely associated with the issue, however, wants more than one casino for the Catskills resorts region, which has declined from its Borscht Belt golden age.
“I will be advocating for three casinos in the Catskills region, not just the one the governor wants,” said state Sen. John Bonacic, whose district includes the Monticello Raceway and the proposed Concord project. He is chairman of the Senate”™s judiciary and racing committees.
“The Catskills had three casinos authorized by a 2001 law,” Bonacic said. “Western New York likewise had three proposed. Western New York received their three casinos; the Catskills have not received any. Three casinos in the Catskills would bring a greater return to the state and substantially reduce unemployment.
“If the governor gets this done, he will correctly be able to claim he created thousands ”“ perhaps tens of thousands ”“ of jobs in upstate New York,” Bonacic said. “If, however, the referendum is so poorly defined that voters are left with more questions than answers, I am concerned they will vote ”˜no.”™
Cuomo laid out the following siting selection criteria:
Ӣ Number of jobs and workforce development.
Ӣ Amount of capital investment with an expected floor of $250 to $500 million.
Ӣ Amount of projected revenue to state and localities.
Ӣ Local support.
Ӣ Amount of franchise fee.
Ӣ Vision for development and integration with regional tourism;
Ӣ Immediate and full financing available;
Ӣ Comprehensive development approach;
Ӣ Experience in gaming development;
Ӣ Speed in construction and date of completion;
Ӣ Ethics and integrity reviews;
Ӣ Labor agreement
Ӣ Environmental sensitivity.
Ӣ A plan for addressing problem gambling.
“Our state has a unique opportunity to revitalize the local economies of communities in upstate New York and create thousands of new jobs where they are needed most,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement. “For years neighboring states like Connecticut and New Jersey have benefited from New Yorkers leaving our state to visit their gaming facilities. We want to reverse this trend by putting new resort destinations in upstate New York, a strategy that will attract more tourists and visitors to come and shop at our local businesses, visit regional attractions and help create new jobs in our communities.”
I hope casino in Monticello goes through as the area needs jobs and visitors.