Jeffrey Gural, owner of Tioaga Downs, submitted his company’s $195 million casino proposal in Nichols, which would include 1,000 slot machines, 50 blackjack and roulette tables, and a hotel with 161 rooms with six restaurants.
New York State Gaming Commission will now have to review Gural’s plan to turn his property into a full-scale gambling venue and to decide whether his proposal should be given the nod. If approved, Tioga Downs will be the fourth upstate casino.
Tioga Downs lost out on the first three casino licenses given out by the commission to Montreign Resort Casino, Lago Resort & Casino, and Rivers Casino & Resort.
Due to the backlash, New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for a new bidding process to be opened and applications for Southern Tier to be submitted.
The second bidder Jeffrey Hyman, a developer and businessman from Albany, has pulled out his $100m casino proposal in Binghamton as the investors withdrew their support for the project because his venue was not included in the newly-released maps by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
“We’re pretty disappointed,” said Hyman “This was going to be a seismic project, not just for Binghamton, but for the whole Southern Tier.”
The New York gaming regulator reopened the bidding in March and Gural presented a revised plan, which will be partly financed by Morgan Stanley.