Three of the new brick and mortar casinos in New York fell far short of their first year operations revenue predictions. When the operators of Del Lago, Rivers and Tioga Downs Casinos pitched their projects to the Gaming Facility Location Board, they said that the three casinos would bring in a total of $588 million in their first year of operations. In reality, however, by the end of August this year, the casinos had only brought in $222 in combined gross income – a massive $366 million below expectations.
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s promise that the casinos would contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to state and local municipalities also fell short. Instead of the $325 million predicted by the governor, only $70 million has made its way to government coffers.
Casino supporters have countered criticism leveraged against New York’s casinos, saying that it takes a few years before a business establishes itself, and it still early days yet to decide if the casinos are not economically viable. In addition, they point to the fact that the construction of the casinos helped employ over 3,300 people in what were described as economically challenged municipalities.
Other voices coming out of a recent Saratoga Springs panel discussion put a dampener on casino supporters’ optimism. They said that New York’s casino market was already saturated, and that was without the upcoming opening of Resorts World in Thompson, Sullivan County, next year. There are already six racetracks in New York state, as well as six Indian nation casinos – with a seventh one due to open up in Madison County.
An example of this saturation is shown with the Del Lago Casino, which is within a relatively short drive of no less than three other gambling establishments. To the east, Del Lago is under an hour from the Turning Stone Resort and the Oneida Nation’s Yellow Brick Road. To the west, it is only half an hour from Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack.
The three casinos are not commenting much on the recent dismal numbers posted by their gaming establishments, although the owner of Tioga Downs blamed the gaming consultants who predicted that the casino would bring in so much more revenue than it actually did in its first year of operation. Jeff Gural said that “looking at the numbers, it appears that the consultants were just wrong.”
