Southern Tier casino proposal endorsed for struggling region

"Many members of the community were instrumental in demonstrating to the state that awarding a license to Tioga Downs would positively impact our region", Jeff Gural, owner of Tioga Downs, said. The state's Gaming Facility Location Board recommended the plan Wednesday.

The New York Gaming Facility Location Board has approved Tioga Downs Casino Racing & Entertainment for the state's final casino-gaming license. Gural was publicly furious at the time with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who he has politically supported; Gural has also flirted with the future possibility of a casino at Meadowlands. "It's great news, because we're in a bit of a slump". The teams behind those three developments are now awaiting formal licensure.

In his do-over application, Gural was the sole applicant for the Binghamton-area region.

Law noted that the new plan calls for the addition of 1,000 video lottery terminals, 50 gaming tables and 161 hotel rooms as well as an expanded outdoor concert venue.

Law told Action News that if there had not been significant changes to the original proposal, the board was more than ready to deny the request again.

Tioga Downs, which is located in Nichols in Tioga County, was the sole bidder to emerge following the July 6 deadline for proposal submissions.

"This Tioga application commits substantially more equity to the project and decreases debt", he said.

Tioga Downs will hold a groundbreaking ceremony and news conference later this month, according to its news release.

However, the Nation says the board should have gone further by rescinding its flawed recommendation of the Lago Resort and Casino earlier this year. That casino site is less than a half hour away from Finger Lakes Thoroughbred racetrack, and a horsemen's group at that track has sounded alarms about Finger Lakes' future if the Lago casino is ever built.

The special Gaming Facility Location Board, despite earlier an earlier "no" vote amid concerns about the proposal's small size, gave its approval on Wednesday to what will be the fourth casino built upstate, the Tioga Downs project in rural Nichols, Tioga County.