Tioga Downs owner Jeff Gural is among those individuals who have been approached by state investigators questions that are asking New York’s casino licensing process.
The nyc state attorney general’s workplace has apparently opened an inquiry into just how the 3 sites that had been suggested by the Gaming Facility Location Board had been selected, and whether the bidding process in general had been fair.
Based on reports that are various investigators for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have met with a few associated with bidders who were part of the casino selection process, seemingly to research whether conflicts of interest or other problems were present during the selection.
According to a report by Central New York Media, the 3 bidders that are winning had ties to Taft, Stettinius & Hollister.
That firm merged with attorney Shefsky & Froelich year that is last after which it became the lead gambling consultant for the location board. As a whole, five of the 16 casino bids mentioned ties to the organizations as a conflict that is potential of.
Gural Says Investigators Approached Him About Process
According to Tioga Downs owner Jeff Gural, he has spoken to investigators about the bidding process. But though Gural has previously complained about the tier that is southern passed over and has now lobbied for his proposed casino to get a second look, he states he had not been trying to allege any illegal activity in the process.
‘I didn’t get in touch with the AG,’ Gural said. ‘It wasn’t my intent to grumble.’
Gural stated that while he told investigators that he didn’t think any laws was broken during the bidding process, he did have questions in regards to the potential conflict of interest caused by an absolute bidder’s connections compared to that casino consulting firm, something he feels may not have been reasonable.
James Featherstonhaugh, an Albany lobbyist who worked with two bidders that are losing also said that state investigators had contacted his clients in recent weeks. Nonetheless, he offered commentary that were even softer than those of Gural, saying that while he had been disappointed in the results, he had beenn’t accusing the location board of any impropriety.
‘We thought that the process was handled fairly and professionally,’ Featherstonhaugh told the newest York days. ‘We want we had won. But we didn’t.’
Location Board Says Process Was Fair and Clear
According to location board spokesperson Lee Park, Taft’s part along the way was only to compile submitted materials into more effortlessly comparable summaries that board members can use.
‘Taft had no direct input into decision-making of the board users,’ Park said month that is last.
In a statement dilemmas Monday, Park reiterated that the process had been fair and followed the principles established by New York’s casino legislation.
‘The casino sitting process strictly followed the provisions of the Upstate ny Gaming Economic Development Act, which called for unprecedented transparency,’ Park said. ‘All material regarding the process, including legally required disclosures of potential conflicts of interest, are available on our site for anyone to examine.’
The investigation comes since the location board is preparing to deliver a report that is final the three sites chosen for casinos on Friday. On that day, the board normally expected to think about a formal request for allowing new proposals from the Southern Tier region, possibly allowing a fourth unused casino permit to be granted to a task there.
At the minute, the three recommended casino projects in upstate New York include Montreign Resort and Casino in Thompson (located in the Catskills), Rivers Casino and Resort in Schenectady, and Lago Resort Casino in Tyre, near the Finger Lakes.
Revel Sold To Florida Billionaire Straub For $82 Million
Straight Back from the dead: Glenn Straub finally gets their arms in the shuttered Revel casino resort, which he plans to show into a casino-cum-center dedicated to life extension science. (Image: wsj.com)
Sold, to the eccentric Florida billionaire within the row that is front one gigantic, doomed casino resort that leaks $2 million a week. Stunning views of the coastline.
Yes, after months of tortuous wrangling that is legal property developer Glenn Straub has finally got his mitts in the stricken Revel Casino Resort in Atlantic City. He will pay $82 million for the building, a fraction of the $2.4 billion it cost to build.
His plans? Well, Revel will NOT become an elite university where in actuality the brightest minds in the world can wander down and up the boardwalk ruminating on answers to global issues, such as ‘famine, cancer and nuclear waste storage,’ as Straub previously proposed.
Instead, it will be some type of weird center devoted to the quest for eternal youth, or ‘life-extension science,’ to make use of the favored terminology. We imagine this is certainly very big in Florida.
Oh, and a casino.
Life Extension for Revel
Yes, despite, previous statements that he dislikes ab muscles concept of Atlantic City as being a casino town and that he would feel uncomfortable about profiting from gambling (although, offered Revel’s history, there would appear to be little chance of that), Straub has tantalizingly revealed that the unsuccessful casino property will reopen as a casino. Albeit a strange one. After all, as he explained to Bloomberg this week: ‘It’s a shame to not have some entertainment.’
‘ I think we can help a complete lot of people,’ added Straub of Revel’s forthcoming life-extension facilities. ‘We’ll provide you with a of knowledge and maybe extend your life. week’
A factor that may have been instrumental in Straub compromising his convictions about casinos is the crippling energy bill that’s tagged onto Revel. While Straub was in fact the original ‘stalking horse’ in Revel’s bankruptcy auction, establishing the bottom bid at $90 million, the auction was fundamentally won by the company slot game titanic that is canadian Asset Management, with a bid of $110 million.
Energy Bills from Hell
But Brookfield balked and bolted when it saw the annual energy bill of $36 million. In comparison, the Borgata, which has doubly many resort rooms and a larger casino floor, paid $11.7 million year that is last energy costs.
The property gets its energy from a plant that is adjacent owned by ACR Partners LLC, which was built specifically for that purpose and with Revel is its sole customer. Revel AC Inc began building the charged power plant whenever work started on the property, in 2008.
When the ongoing company ran out of money, nonetheless, the plant was taken over by ACR, which demanded a 15 per cent return on its equity within the first 5 years and 18 percent after that. Revel’s obligations to ACR constitute equity payments totaling $20.1 million annually, plus $4 million for operations and maintenance.
Resorts Casino Resort Joins New Jersey On The Web Gambling Fray
Resorts will end up being the casino that is fifth in Atlantic City to open an on the web gambling site in the state of the latest Jersey. (Image: Donald Kravitz/Getty Pictures)
Resorts Casino Hotel may rank last among the Atlantic that is remaining City in terms of revenue, but that is not stopping them from jumping straight into the online gambling world.
This week, Resorts will become the 5th Atlantic City casino company to offer gambling that is online hawaii of the latest Jersey. With a little luck, they may also be joined by a really powerful partner into the days or months to come.
Resorts will end their five-day evaluating period on Wednesday, the second of two full days of operation that follow three partial times of gaming.
That means the casino’s online gambling sites is completely operational on Thursday, just a week Resorts received their waiver that is transactional from nj-new Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE).
Resorts Boasts Range that is wide of Games, No Poker at Launch
‘As New Jersey’s first casino destination, Resorts is committed to delivering the best-in-class online video gaming experience in the Garden State by partnering with gaming leaders, including SNG Interactive, which houses Sportech and NYX Gaming Group,’ said Mark Giannantonio, CEO and president of Resorts Casino Hotel.
‘With SNG’s versatile gaming solutions and exclusive game content, we are excited to introduce European countries’s industry-leading casino slots and table games towards the United States market for the best online user experience.’
Resorts joins the Borgata, Golden Nugget, Tropicana and Caesars Entertainment in offering online casinos in New Jersey. Right now, only the Borgata (partnered with partypoker) and Caesars (with 888 Holdings) offer online poker.
That is not something which Resorts can boast appropriate from the gate. Nevertheless, they’re more likely to enter the world wide web poker landscape sooner rather than later. Resorts has an existing partnership contract utilizing the Rational Group, the parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt that is now owned by Amaya Gaming.
While Amaya’s certification application happens to be delayed, there were indications that the company could gain a New Jersey permit quickly, which would probably make Resorts a solid competitor within the internet poker sphere.
PokerStars, Complete Tilt Could Provide Games if Certified
‘Resorts has built a relationship that is exclusive PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, two of the most popular and powerful online gaming brands on earth,’ reads an FAQ page for Resorts. ‘This means Resorts will be providing brand New Jersey with the best casino that is online poker web sites with the industry’s best products.’
For the time being, though, the focus will be on providing casino services and products. According to Resorts, their site will ‘feature the largest selection of casino slots and table games in their state of New Jersey also exclusive titles and highly coveted content that are unavailable anywhere else.’
Resorts Casino Hotel was the casino that is first in Atlantic City, opening in 1978. Resorts was a contributor that is heavy the campaign to legalize gambling in New Jersey, supporting the referendum on the issue that had been passed by state voters in 1976.
Resorts will likely be entering a gambling that is online in New Jersey that has been growing in recent months. In January, the state’s online gambling sites brought in $11.6 million, up over 22 per cent in comparison to similar month year that is last.
The actual only real element of the state’s Internet gambling framework that appears to be struggling is online poker, which could be given a major boost if PokerStars is permitted to start operations in partnership with Resorts.
