On Tuesday, January 13, the New York Gaming Commission's Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB) announced that it has unanimously approved a request by Governor Andrew Cuomo to re-open the bidding process for a fourth casino gaming licence specifically for the ‘Southern Tier’ region of the state, which is home to Tioga Downs.
A report on the situation by thedailyreview.com contains comments by William Thompson, a member of the GFLB that is also a former New York City comptroller.
In his comments, Thompson defended the location board’s decision on the awarding of the gaming licences. According to the thedailyreview.com report, Thompson stated that if there was any mistake in the decision, it was not a mistake by the GFLB. He was quoted as saying, "There are winners and losers in each location – contrary to the chest pounding going on."
On December 17, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board announced the three destination gaming resorts which would be considered for commercial casino licences by the New York State Gaming Commission.
It did not take long for Jeff Gural, who operates Tioga Downs in the Southern Tier, to voice his displeasure with the board’s decision, as he fired off some very terse comments after the decision had been announced.
It was then announced less than a week later that Gural was partnering with a former rival in an attempt to land a casino licence for Tioga Downs.
News then broke that – per request from Governor Cuomo – the licencing decision would be reviewed by the GFLB – an update that Gural was encouraged with.
As the thedailyreview.com article explains, GFLB Chairman Kevin Law stated during Tuesday’s announcement that proposals for a Southern Tier casino licence will need to be resubmitted via an open Request for Application process.
During the Tuesday announcement, Law also took the opportunity to defend the board’s initial licencing decision. Stating that he was proud of the board’s initial decision, Law was quoted as saying that the other bids that had been received for a Southern Tier casino “were not sufficient."
Syracuse.com also covered Tuesday’s announcement and explained that the board will only issue a Southern Tier casino licence if the right proposal is submitted.
"I am sympathetic to the economic struggles of this region," Law was quoted as saying in the report. He later added, "I do not see any harm in reissuing bids for this region."
Gural has gone on the record as saying that he plans on resubmitting a proposal in an attempt to land the licence.
(With files from syracuse.com and thedailyreview.com)