webkey New York State(Photo: Chris Cusumano / Poughkeepsie Journal)
NEW YORK – Tioga Downs hit the jackpot.
The nine-year-old racino, located in Nichols, Tioga County, received the nod from the state Gaming Location Board on Wednesday to convert to a full scale casino after being rebuffed last December in the initial round of licensing awards.
With the approval from the three-member board, owner Jeff Gural can apply to the state Gaming Commission for a license, which would allow him to upgrade his facility to a $195 million, full-fledged casino pending an extensive background check.
"I think giving this license was designed to help the Southern Tier," Gural said immediately following the conclusion of siting board's the 20-minute meeting. "The governor made a promise to the people of the Southern Tier and I always believed he intended to keep that promise"
Gural and Tioga Downs had placed a bid during the first round of bidding last year, but the Gaming Facility Location Board instead opted for the Lago Resort & Casino in Seneca County and projects in Schenectady and Sullivan County.
After criticism from Binghamton-area officials and Gural himself, Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked the board to re-open the bidding for the fourth available license, which the board originally opted against awarding. The board agreed, limiting bidding to the Southern Tier.
Tioga Downs was the only bidder.
"I want to thank the people of the Southern Tier, a beautiful region of the state with passionate people," board chairman Kevin Law said at Wednesday's meeting in Manhattan. "Their voice was heard."
By designating Tioga Downs for a full casino, which would include the now-prohibited table games, the state will have four state sanctioned non-native American casinos within its borders.
Tioga Downs will now have to formally apply for the license from the state Gaming Commission, where the three other casino-license applications remain pending.
Following the first round of bidding, Gaming Facility Location Board Chairman Kevin Law had warned Gural against simply putting "lipstick" on his previous proposal, which drew concern from the board over its equity level and the overall size of the project.
"There is a whole lot more than lipstick with this application," Law said during Wednesday's board meeting in Manhattan. "This Tioga application commits substantially more equity to the project and decreases debt, which significantly improves the financial stability of the proposal."
Tioga Downs now has 310 full-time equivalent jobs and expected to more than double that with the new license.
Gural has said his application will center on a multimillion-dollar expansion of Tioga Downs, OK, I'm going to bring you into the chat I already have goingcurrently one of nine racinos in New York — gambling halls adjacent to racetracks, which can house electronic gaming but not poker, blackjack or other table games.
Documents prepared by outside analysts in support of the facility's application estimated Tioga Downs would nearly double wages and salaries it pays, expand its work force and add up to $12 million in state and local tax revenue if allowed to expand.
In a statement, Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, D-Endwell, Broome County, called the board's decision "great news."
"This tourist destination will compliment all of the assets we are developing in the region along with advanced manufacturing, innovation, food, agriculture and others," she said.
Includes reporting by Albany Bureau staff writer Jon Campbell. John Roby: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . www.twitter.com/PSBJRoby
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