New York
Related: About this forumCasino bidders spend $11M on lobbying and legislators
Laura Nahmias
ALBANY— Companies involved in bidding for casino licenses in New York State spent nearly $11 million on lobbying and campaign donations in 2012 and 2013, and are donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to campaign committees through holding companies, according to a new report from the New York Public Interest Research Group.
Companies affiliated with KT Lim, the C.E.O. of Malaysian casino company Genting, spent $2.47 million on lobbying between 2012 and 2013. Lim is involved in bids for three separate casinos—two in Orange County and a third in Sullivan County.
He is a part-owner of Empire Resorts, one of the companies bidding in Orange County to build a destination resort that would be called Montreign Resort Casino.
Empire Resorts spent $665,977 on lobbying expenditures during the two-year period.
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/07/8548410/casino-bidders-spend-11m-lobbying-and-legislators?top-featured-2
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hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)James M. Odato |
Seventeen horses have entered the race for a casino in upstate New York, and every entrant contends their stable holds the winning combination.
A Times Union analysis of the projects suggests that each has a player's chance to secure one of the licenses available in the biggest expansion of gambling New York has ever seen.
But based on scores of interviews and a review of bidding requirements against public data provided by bidders, some of the 16 teams in the running (one firm, Genting, has two plans) show a greater likelihood of entering the winner's circle: The odds of a casino appear highest in Schenectady, near Monticello in Sullivan County, near Newburgh in Orange County, and in the town of Nichols in Tioga County.
http://m.timesunion.com/local/article/Odds-on-the-biggest-of-big-games-5602045.php
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)TU Editorial Board
New York’s state Gaming Commission has begun the arduous task of weeding through more than a ton of paperwork filed on behalf of 17 projects competing for one of the four coveted casino licenses. Politicians may press for quick action, so groundbreakings can come before November’s elections.
But there are new reasons to compel the commissioners to take their sweet time.
In recent weeks another major resort in Atlantic City, Revel Casino Hotel, filed for bankruptcy protection after revenues fell far below expectations. New Jersey taxpayers had invested $260 million in the Revel project as part of a five-year program to reinvigorate the gambling industry there. Competition from neighboring states was cited as one of the chief reasons for the Revel project’s difficulty. Since 2007, half the Atlantic City casinos have filed for bankruptcy protection.
Also shut down last month: Harrah’s Casino in Tunica, Miss. That left nearly 1,000 people unemployed.
http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/wait-on-casino-licenses/29856/
