“Many members of the community were instrumental in demonstrating to the State that awarding a license to Tioga Downs would positively impact our region”, said owner Jeff Gural.
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Just five minutes into Wednesday’s meeting, board chairman Kevin Law delivered the long-awaited “yes”.
NICHOLS, N.Y. (AP) Plans to expand a racetrack casino in New York’s Southern Tier into a full resort casino were endorsed Wednesday by state gambling regulators, a pivotal step toward bringing expanding gambling _ and the promise of tourism and jobs _ to one of the state’s most disadvantaged regions. He envisions building on the existing Tioga track/racino into a regional casino that would draw people from the Southern Tier and perhaps northern Pennsylvania. The casino proposed by Gural, as well as three previously recommended casinos elsewhere in the state, still need to get license approval from the New York State Gaming Commission before construction at the sites can begin.
“The gaming facility has the potential to capture gaming revenue in-state that may now be spent in a neighboring state”, he said.
He was alluding to an earlier warning that Gural’s resubmission shouldn’t be a case of putting lipstick on a pig. He said Gural substantially increased the equity in the project and decreased debt, which he said “significantly improves” the financial stability of the plan.
“This Southern Tier community, we want this facility here”, Tioga County Legislative Chair Martha Sauerbrey said.
This is the second application owner Jeff Gural has submitted on behalf of the Nichols racino. The facility would include new gambling options, a hotel, restaurants and a concert venue.
Law estimated that the project would create more than 1000 jobs.
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Tioga submitted an initial casino proposal past year, only to see the location board instead endorse three other projects in the Catskills, the Finger Lakes and in Schenectady. In addition, we appreciate every single person who wrote a letter, sent an e-mail or spoke in favor of a full gaming license for Tioga Downs at the public hearing.
