Tioga Downs owner Jeff Gural, who also owns Vernon Downs, as well as the Meadowlands in New Jersey, told the New York Gaming Commission in his executive summary application that a casino at Tioga Downs would generate $103 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) during its initial year. Through September, it’s produced just $57.8 million.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n“The projections we had were wrong,” Gural admitted this month. However, he added it’s still been a “huge success” from an economic development standpoint.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nRivers projected $222 million in gaming revenue in its first 12 months in operation. But through its first eight months, the casino has generated less than $94 million in gross gaming win.<\/p>\n
Del Lago is even worse, the casino that forecasted first-year GGR of $263 million stands at just $100.6 million through nine months.<\/p>\n
Saw This Coming<\/b><\/h2>\n
While gaming isn’t living up to expectations, owners of the properties say it’s too early to judge.<\/p>\n
Del Lago General Manager Jeff Babinski told the Democrat and Chronicle <\/i>that he’s “confident that we are moving in the right direction.” Babinski explained that the hotel and spa has been “extraordinarily well received,” and the property is “filling rooms with tourists.”<\/p>\n
The tourism just isn’t paying off in terms of gaming revenue, at least so far. And that was Assemblyman Gary Pretlow’s reasoning in sponsoring the commercial casino measure back in 2013 in the first place.<\/p>\n
DiNapoli might be saying “I told you so” in his response to Pretlow. In 2014, the comptroller advised lawmakers to go conservative on the gaming revenue<\/a> numbers. “Given the experience in other states, where casino revenues have been lower than expected, the state will need to use caution,” DiNapoli recommended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon) has requested State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to try and figure out why three upstate casinos that recently opened are far from meeting their pre-market revenue expectations. Pretlow, one of New York’s most active gaming expansion proponents, believes the financial difficulties may eventually lead the resorts into requesting assistance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":62029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10,18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow Calls for Upstate Casino Review<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n