Prospective racino and convention centre developer Louis Cappelli has been quoted as saying that he will not stand to be a "punching bag" anymore, and he is putting his money where his mouth is

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The Times Herald-Record has reported that Cappelli yesterday filed a $1.5-billion lawsuit against Empire Resorts and Entertainment Properties Trust.

Cappelli is stating that Empire and EPT broke anti-trust laws when the two companies allegedly conspired to prevent his $600-million plan from becoming reality.

The article has quoted EPT Vice-President and Associate General Counsel Robert Drumm as saying, “We’ve looked at the lawsuit and we don’t believe it has any merit.”

(With files from the Times Herald-Record)