Developers of Coney Island Casino believe the resort will revitalize the Brooklyn seaside area.
A team intending to construct a $3 billion casino resort at Coney Island in Brooklyn believes their bid meets the New York Gaming Location Board's requirements for demonstrating how a project could spur economic growth in the location where it's based. Paul Pippin, COO of Global Gaming Solutions, which is a gaming subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma operating the world's largest casino, the WinStar World Casino Hotel, and Sam Gerrity, CEO of Saratoga Casino Holdings, discussed their Coney Island proposal recently. They are partnered with real estate giant Thor Equities for the project.
The trio wishes to erect a casino at the seaside community, but some in the area have reservations about gambling's potential to reinvigorate the economy. A report of a public engagement session with over 200 residents detailed their anxieties regarding increased crime, drug usage, addiction, and higher rents due to the introduction of slot machines and table games. Pippin and Gerrity declared they hear these concerns and are working to fortify their application with such feedback.
According to Pippin, "[the community feedback] is part of the process. The input is crucial to us. We regard the suggestions to toughen our bid." Gerrity echoed this sentiment: "[Community engagement] is essential for us."
New York has three licences for substantial-scale commercial casinos in the downstate region. However, MGM Resorts' Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Resorts World New York City in Queens, which currently provide only electronic video lottery gaming machines, are anticipated to secure two of these permits. Coney Island's proposal is part of 12 or so anticipated bids for the presumed sole remaining licence. Although there's no guarantee that state officials will grant licences to MGM and Genting, the proponents of this project think they have an advantage due to their knowing of the New York market and their targeting a needy neighborhood.
"We've been in New York for nearly 20 years," was Gerrity's explanation. "Our strength lies in our connections developed during this period."
New York legislators allowed up to seven casinos throughout the state in 2013, establishing a 10-year moratorium on the three downstate properties to let the four upstate venues to operate without competition. The gaming law stipulates that the New York Gaming Location Facility Board should prioritize projects boosting neighborhood revitalization.
Grade categories are "economic activity and business development" (70%), and "local impact siting," "workforce enhancement," and "diversity framework" (each 10%). Pippin and Gerrity assert that their proposal best satisfies these criteria since it targets a neighborhood requiring economic resurgence.
Pippin clarified that Coney Island experiences seasonal attendance but contended that an all-year casino resort would transform it. Gerrity pledged that this entertainment district is the missing piece for Coney Island, plus asserted it would result in thousands of well-paid jobs.
Their arguments are directed at the potential knock-on effects of a casino resort to the area, like collaboration with community businesses. Pippin mentioned, "[We're] going out to the people to comprehend their needs to generate communal support. [Community support is the] most critical element in this entire process." Gerrity reiterated, "[There's] no other site with this economic potential." Pippin summarized their confidence in acquiring a New York casino permit, "[We're] modestly confident."
Adhering to the lawmakers' prohibition on such venues in the city, there currently is not a casino in New York City. The region last housed a casino until its breakdown in 1940. For that reason, Gerrity and Pippin decided to construct their Coney Island casino as an entertainments district rather than a casino resort, exempting it from the city's laws. Nonetheless, the investors hope to persuade the Gaming Location Board to sanction this proposal based on its eagerness to boost Coney Island's prospective draw and growth.
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Source: www.casino.org
