UPDATE:

Gaming regulators indicated that they would re-open a request for proposal process to recieve bids for the southern tier, following a personal request from Governor Cuomo last month.

The announcement was made by a joint statement from Mark Geran, NYS Gaming Commission Chairman, and Kevin Law, who is chairman for the Gaming Facility Location Board.

The statement read:

“The intent of the gaming statute was to benefit economically distressed Upstate areas experiencing high levels of unemployment,” Geran said in a statement. “Clearly, the Southern Tier meets this criterion. A process to generate new proposals focused on the Southern Tier may create an additional opportunity to identify an appropriately structured and capitalized gaming facility that could bring the region important economic development and employment.”

Read More: Here

A meeting will be held Jan.13 in New York City to discuss the issue.

 

 

Original Story:

Gov. Cuomo has requested that the casino bidding process be reopened.

He wrote a letter to gaming regulators, and asked them to award a fourth license to the Southern Tier region.

Counties included in the Southern Tier are: Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Delaware, Steuben, and Tioga Counties.
The gaming facility awarded recommendations for development proposals in Senaca County in the Finger Lake region, Sullivan County, and Schenectady County.

According to state officials, they decided not to make a 4th recommendation to avoid creating competing resorts. Cuomo wrote that a 4th license was lawful, and during the process he was not endorsing projects or had a role in the winning bids.

In the conclusion of his Letter to the gaming commission he wrote:

"If you agree to this request. the GFLB should quickly establish a process for the fourth license that could be complete as expeditiously as possible as the Southern Tier needs jobs and investment now." - See more at Albany.twcnews.com

You can view Governor Cuomo's Gaming Commission Letter: Here

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