Jeff Gural has announced that he is partnering with a former rival in an attempt to land a casino licence for Tioga Downs, located in the Southern Tier of New York State.
On December 17, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board announced the three destination gaming resorts which will be considered for commercial casino licenses by the New York State Gaming Commission. The announcement states that the destination resorts that will be considered are the Montreign Resort Casino in the Catskills/Hudson Valley Region; Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor in the Capital Region; and Lago Resort and Casino in the Eastern Southern Tier/Finger Lakes Region.
As news of the decision was announced, Gural offered some straight-from-the-hip quotes. He also stated that the decision could lead to the closure of Vernon Downs and that the residents of the Southern Tier got “screwed” by the decision.
On Tuesday, December 23 Gural and Peter Walsh announced that they will work together in an effort to land the fourth casino licence in the state, which was not handed out in the December 17 decision.
Walsh’s proposal for a casino at the Traditions Resort in the Southern Tier Town of Union was direct competitor to Gural’s proposed gaming expansion at Tioga Downs.
In addition to the Gural and Walsh’s new partnership, legislators from the Southern Tier are now actively lobbying the Governor’s office to award the final gaming licence to the area.
(With files from pressconnects.com)