
Tioga Downs owner Jeff Gural is among individuals who have been approached by state investigators questions that are asking ny’s casino licensing process.
The New York state attorney general’s office has apparently exposed an inquiry into just how the three internet sites that were suggested by the Gaming Facility Location Board had been opted for, and whether the putting in a bid process in general had been fair.
In accordance with various reports, investigators for brand New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have met with some associated with bidders who were an integral part of the casino selection procedure, apparently to research whether conflicts of great interest or other problems were present during the selection.
According to a report by Central New York Media, the three bidders that are winning had ties to Taft, Stettinius & Hollister.
That company merged with lawyer Shefsky & Froelich last 12 months, 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 firms as a potential conflict of interest.
Gural Says Investigators Approached Him About Process
According to Tioga Downs owner Jeff Gural, he has spoken to investigators about the putting in a bid procedure. But though Gural has previously reported about the tier that is southern passed over and has now lobbied for his proposed casino to acquire a 2nd look, he states he was not trying to allege any illegal activity in the process.
‘we don’t reach out to the AG,’ Gural said. ‘It was not my intent to whine.’
Gural said that while he told detectives that he didn’t think any laws was indeed broken during the bidding process, he did have questions about the potential conflict of great interest caused by a fantastic bidder’s connections compared to that casino consulting firm, something he feels may not have been fair.
James Featherstonhaugh, an Albany lobbyist who worked with two bidders that are losing also said that state investigators had contacted his clients in recent days. However, he offered comments that were even softer than those of Gural, saying that while he had been disappointed within the results, he had beenn’t accusing the location board of any impropriety.
‘We thought that the process had been managed fairly and professionally,’ Featherstonhaugh told this new York instances. ‘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 role in the act was only to compile submitted materials into more effortlessly comparable summaries that board members could use.
‘Taft had no direct input into decision-making of the board users,’ Park said last month.
In a statement dilemmas Monday, Park reiterated that the procedure ended up being fair and followed the rules established by New York’s casino law.
‘The casino process that is sitting 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 due to the fact location board is planning to deliver a final report on the three sites chosen for casinos on Friday. On that day, the board can also be likely to consider a formal request for allowing new proposals from the Southern Tier region, potentially allowing a fourth unused casino license become granted to a task there.
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 at the moment.
Revel Sold To Florida Billionaire Straub For $82 Million
Straight Back through the dead: Glenn Straub finally gets their arms regarding the shuttered Revel casino resort, which he plans to show into a casino-cum-center devoted to life extension technology. (Image: wsj.com)
Sold, to the eccentric Florida billionaire within the row that is front one gigantic, doomed casino resort that leaks $2 million per week. Stunning views associated with coastline.
Yes, after months of tortuous legal wrangling, property developer Glenn Straub has finally got his mitts in the stricken Revel Casino Resort in Atlantic play titanic slot machine online City. He will spend $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 fact the brightest minds on earth can wander up and down the boardwalk ruminating on answers to global issues, such as ‘famine, cancer and waste that is nuclear,’ as Straub previously proposed.
Instead, it will be some kind of strange center specialized in the quest for eternal youth, or ‘life-extension science,’ to make use of the terminology that is preferred. We imagine this will be very big in Florida.
Oh, and a casino.
Life Extension for Revel
Yes, despite, previous statements that he dislikes ab muscles notion of Atlantic City as being a casino town and that he would feel uncomfortable about profiting from gambling (although, provided 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 not to have some entertainment.’
‘ I think we can help a complete large amount 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 gambling enterprises could be the crippling power bill that’s tagged onto Revel. While Straub had been the first ‘stalking horse’ in Revel’s bankruptcy auction, establishing the base bid at $90 million, the auction ended up being eventually won by the Canadian company Brookfield Asset Management, by having 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 numerous hotel rooms and a more substantial casino floor, paid $11.7 million year that is last energy costs.
The property gets its energy from an adjacent plant, owned by ACR Partners LLC, which was built especially for that function and with Revel is its sole customer. Revel AC Inc began building the power plant when work started on the home, in 2008.
When the business went out of money, but, the plant was taken over by ACR, which demanded a 15 percent return on its equity within the first 5 years and 18 per cent from then on. 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 become the casino that is fifth in Atlantic City to start an on the web gambling site in the state of the latest Jersey. (Image: Donald Kravitz/Getty Graphics)
Resorts Casino Hotel may rank last among the Atlantic that is remaining City in terms of revenue, but that’s not stopping them from jumping right into the online gambling world.
This week, Resorts will end up the 5th Atlantic City casino company to provide online gambling in the state of the latest Jersey. With a luck that is little they could also be joined by an extremely powerful partner in the weeks or months in the future.
Resorts will end their testing that is five-day period 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 totally operational on Thursday, just per week Resorts received their transactional waiver from the 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 flexible gaming solutions and exclusive game content, we’re excited to introduce Europe’s industry-leading casino slots and table games to the United States market for the best online user experience.’
Resorts joins the Borgata, Golden Nugget, Tropicana and Caesars Entertainment in providing casinos that are online New Jersey. Right now, only the Borgata (partnered with partypoker) and Caesars (with 888 Holdings) offer online poker.
That’s not a thing that Resorts can boast appropriate out of the gate. Nonetheless, they truly are likely to enter the world wide web poker landscape sooner rather than later on. Resorts has an existing partnership agreement aided by the Rational Group, the parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt that is now owned by Amaya Gaming.
A formidable competitor in the online poker sphere while Amaya’s licensing application has been delayed, there have been signs that the company could gain a New Jersey license soon, which would likely make resorts.
PokerStars, Full Tilt Could Provide Games if Licensed
‘Resorts has built a relationship that is exclusive PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, two of the most popular and effective online gaming brands on the planet,’ reads an FAQ web page for Resorts. ‘This means Resorts will be supplying New Jersey with the best online casino and poker internet sites with the industry’s most competitive products.’
For the present time, though, the focus shall be on supplying casino products. According to Resorts, their site will ‘feature the selection that is largest of casino slots and table games in the state of New Jersey along with exclusive games 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 had been a contributor that is heavy the campaign to legalize gambling in brand New Jersey, supporting the referendum on the issue that had been passed away by state voters in 1976.
Resorts are 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 compared to exactly the same month year that is last.
The sole element of the state’s Internet gambling framework that generally seems to be struggling is online poker, which could be given a boost that is major PokerStars is allowed to start operations in partnership with Resorts.
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