What Resorts World must resort to

From Crains:

The jackpot at Resorts World Casino is a little leaner these days—though not for gamblers.

The 36-month-old racino at Aqueduct Raceway in Queens has enjoyed a run of record-breaking revenue and double-digit annual growth. But during the past year, its growth has slowed, just as its owner, Malaysia-based Genting Americas, is hoping to be approved by the state for a $1.5 billion luxury resort and casino in Tuxedo.

Resorts World's revenue this fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2015, will increase by "high single digits," compared with a 14% growth rate in the previous fiscal year, said Christian Goode, senior vice president of development for Genting Americas. Last fiscal year, it generated $792 million in revenue, of which $618.2 million went to paying fees and to Albany in the form of gambling taxes.

"Double-digit growth is simply not sustainable, but whether we get [a casino upstate], our efforts are full steam ahead in Queens," he added. "There is more we can do there."

Resorts World has not been as successful tapping into the robust tourism industry in the Big Apple as it would have liked. The vast majority of its customers are locals from Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. To attract more visitors, Mr. Goode is considering developing a hotel near John F. Kennedy International Airport—one that would offer better amenities than the existing budget airport properties—and help the casino capture international travelers, who would be shuttled directly to Aqueduct.

Cuomo now hates Genting

From Capital New York:

Two years ago, Andrew Cuomo made the Malaysian gambling conglomerate’s agenda his own, putting his full rhetorical and political might behind its ambitious plans for a $4 billion convention-center complex there—a complex the company also hoped would come complete with a full-scale casino. Now, the political darling has become an outcast, with its ambitions of being in on the ground floor of New York’s coming casino boom in doubt.

“Andrew hates them with a passion,” said one knowledgeable source, referring to Genting. “I think that he felt that they didn’t negotiate in good faith.”

The two parties are “on the outs,” said another.

Cuomo declined to comment for this story.

Genting spokesman Stefan Friedman, without getting into specifics, said, “Genting’s relationship with the state is strong, and the people of New York are the beneficiaries of that relationship.”

But you don’t have to be a Cuomo insider to read the tea leaves.

In early January, Cuomo made the convention center idea the centerpiece of his State of the State economic development strategy, relying on what some sources described as an unbinding memorandum of understanding between the state and the gambling company. In that same speech, he said he would seek to legalize casino gambling in New York State.

Given the still-preliminary nature of the negotiations with Cuomo, executives at Genting were taken aback to find their proposal center-stage at the State of the State. But by publicly committing himself to a still half-baked idea, Cuomo had given them leverage to negotiate, and they used it.

In the ensuing weeks, details about the Genting-Cuomo negotiations leaked out, and despite Cuomo’s protestations, those negotiations clearly linked the full-scale casino to the convention center. Not only did Genting want a lower tax rate for its gambling operations, but it also wanted regional exclusivity for its full-scale casino. Goode, the Genting lobbyist, even went on the record arguing: “The state has provided exclusivity to other projects. It’s a logical path. We don’t want to cannibalize our own market.’’

And then, somehow, everything fell apart.

Here come the Feds!

From the NY Post:

The feds are grilling state Senate Democratic insiders as part of an explosive probe into an alleged Aqueduct casino bid-rigging scandal, The Post has learned.

Investigators are asking questions about the roles of then-Senate Democratic leaders John Sampson and Malcolm Smith and others who were accused of helping the Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG) land a multibillion-dollar casino contract three years ago, sources said.

The state ultimately rescinded the contract in 2010 amid a state inspector general’s probe into claims of favoritism. The IG’s office referred its scathing findings to federal authorities for potential prosecution.

The state subsequently selected Genting, an international gambling firm, to operate the Aqueduct slots casino.

It’s the second federal probe targeting Sampson. The Post last week reported that the former Senate minority leader is linked to a broader federal investigation into Queens Rep. Gregory Meeks and a convicted real estate developer, Edul Ahmad.

Smith, who has talked about running for mayor on the Republican line, also is being targeted as part of the Meeks inquiry, a law-enforcement official said.

Megacasino not happening right now

From the NY Times:

A $4 billion plan announced by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to create the country’s largest convention center and a casino in Queens has fallen apart, the governor acknowledged on Friday.

The project, which was to have been built by a Malaysian gambling company at the Aqueduct racetrack near Kennedy Airport, was a signature initiative of Mr. Cuomo’s and a central thrust of his State of the State address in January.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, said during a radio interview that negotiations between the state and the Genting company, which was expected to pay the development costs, had broken down.

“The conversations haven’t really worked out,” he said.

The revelation left a fog of uncertainty over Mr. Cuomo’s drive to bring casino gambling to New York City, which his administration views as a key source of jobs and revenue. The Genting proposal alone was expected to create 10,000 construction jobs and 10,000 permanent jobs.

Genting issued a statement saying that company officials “continue to want to invest in New York and plan to do so for years to come,” but that the uncertainty surrounding Mr. Cuomo’s efforts to push through a constitutional amendment to create a framework for casinos in the state made it difficult to reach a deal.

But it also appeared that the company’s desire for the exclusive right to operate in New York City hampered the talks.

On Friday, Mr. Cuomo sought to cast the breakdown of the deal as a positive, saying the state is now entering into discussions with other gambling companies. He said he planned to set up a competitive bidding process and entertain other casino proposals next year.

Business leaders want to keep Javits

From Crain's:

A major fear for the meetings industry is that the Queens project will upend a decades-old system of doing business at Javits, alienating show producers and attendees who may defect to other cities as a result.

“If Javits were torn down and I had a big show in New York, I would consider moving it to another city such as Philadelphia before I'd consider Aqueduct,” said Jeff Little, the former president and owner of George Little Management, a major tradeshow producer. Mr. Little recently formed a new company after last year's purchase of GLM by Providence Equity Partners.

Genting also faced critics who say that building a large convention center does not make sense when so many mega centers across the country are struggling to book shows.

Over the last decade there has been an enormous decline of attendees at conventions, said Steven Malanga, senior fellow at Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. What's more, he said that just 27% of the 2.3 million people who attended shows at Javits last year were from out of town.

“The rest were day-trippers,” he said. Genting, he predicted, won't be able to attract large trade shows because the industry is simply not growing.

Mr. Goode said there is no shortage of shows that want to come to New York but cannot do so either because they are too large for Javits or because the building is fully booked. At the same time, he conceded that it is not just the enormous events that attract 50,000 or more attendees that he is targeting.

Conventioneers not keen on Aqueduct

From the NY Times:

Trade show and hotel executives have complained that the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is too small since the day the long, black-glass building opened in 1986 on the West Side of Manhattan.

Attendees at the National Retail Federation annual convention in January 2010 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. It is one of the busiest in the nation but is too small for some shows.

But now that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and a Malaysian conglomerate are proposing to replace the Javits Center with the nation’s largest convention hall on a site 12 miles away in Jamaica, Queens, industry executives are not so sure it is a smart move.

Conventioneers and other visitors come to New York expecting to see Broadway shows during their down time, eat in famous restaurants and shop on Fifth Avenue, trade show managers and hotel operators say. None of that exists at the relatively remote Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, where the Malaysian company, Genting Group, hopes to build a 3.8-million-square-foot convention center and 3,000 hotel rooms and enlarge its existing gambling hall.

More to the point, they add, Aqueduct is a 60-minute subway ride from Times Square. They fear that some conventions, trade shows and conferences will decide to go elsewhere.

Resorts World restaurant serves shark fin dishes

The dining menu at Genting Palace at Resorts World includes:

Shark's Fin and Prawn Dumplings in Superior Soup
Superior Shark’s Fin Abalone, Scallop and Fish Maw
Shark’s Fin Soup with Crab Meat

From Huffington Post, re: President Obama's recent visit to San Francisco, where he chowed down on Shark's fin soup:

The big problem with Great Eastern is that it serves shark fin soup, which is the product of what is widely considered one of the cruelest animal treatment practices on earth, shark finning. Shark finning is also doubly illegal in San Francisco; it's banned by both California and federal law. Critics have been quick to note that Obama himself signed the Shark Conservation Act into law last January.

From Stop Shark Finning:

Finning is the inhumane practice of hacking off the shark's fins and throwing its still living body back into the sea. The sharks either starve to death, are eaten alive by other fish, or drown (if they are not in constant movement their gills cannot extract oxygen from the water).

This post is not about Obama (who should have done his homework about where he was visiting, but probably just ate what was handed to him in order to be polite during a photo op). Rather, this post is about the electeds that pushed for the Resorts World project and continue to push for an expansion of the casino and a convention center, built and run by Genting, who apparently supports shark finning.

Do you electeds also support shark finning? Why do you support an entity that does? Why hasn't this practice been banned in New York? Governor Cuomo, are you going to do something about this?

Double the money, double the fun?

From the NY Post:

An expanded racino at Aueduct would more than double the state’s annual take from the racetrack gambling hall, raising the projected payout to $700 million, The Post has learned.

Gov. Cuomo favors expanding the racino in exchange for its private operator, the Genting Group, spending $4 billion to build what would be the nation’s largest convention center at the Queens site.

A racino expansion would net the state more than $700 million per year by a “conservative estimate” based on the state’s analysis of Genting’s projections, according to a senior Cuomo administration official.

The current racino, without the expansion, is estimated to bring the state $350 million a year.

The state takes 70 percent of racino revenues, but would take a smaller cut on new machines, said Cuomo aide Howard Glaser.

Unconventional convention center thinking

From Crain's:

Executives in the tourism and trade show business have been lukewarm about a convention center in South Ozone Park, because of its distance from, and lack of speedy transportation to, Manhattan. They say that the appeal of coming to New York for a trade show is being in Manhattan. Shows held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, for example, draw up to 15% more attendees compared with other cities.

One scenario for the future might include a land grab by Genting for the adjacent racetrack, whose operation would move to the nearby Belmont track.

“We wouldn't oppose a move to Belmont,” said Mr. Goode. The governor has even vaguely hinted that Genting's expansion could affect Belmont.

“There has always been talk about consolidating racing at Belmont,” said Rick Violette, president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which represents owners and trainers at the Saratoga, Aqueduct and Belmont tracks.

“I'm sure Genting is interested in the land, but we would be very defensive against any initiative that would harm this industry,” Mr. Violette added.

And from the NY Times:

The city’s Economic Development Corporation, which is spearheading the Willets Point overhaul, did not respond directly to questions about the governor’s Aqueduct proposal. Despite that proposal, Jennifer Friedberg, a spokeswoman for the corporation, said, “our plans have not changed.”

City officials do, however, seem to be less wedded to the convention center as part of a reborn Willets Point. For example, officials take pains to point out that any convention center is years away from being built and is not included in the first phase of the project, which covers 20 of the roughly 61 acres. That phase imagines 400 apartments, 35 percent of which will be for people of limited income, a hotel and 680,000 square feet of retail space.

The corporation is poring over proposals for the first phase from a half-dozen developers and should select a winner in coming weeks. It is also close to acquiring 90 percent of the needed land and is prepared to condemn the rest through eminent domain.

Both Mr. Cuomo’s push for an enormous convention center in southern Queens and the convention center plan for Willets Point come at a time when the centers are losing their appeal.

Uh huh. Although a convention center was the main selling point for the project because of the jobs it would allegedly create, it was never a mandatory part of the Willets Point plan and is not part of phase 1. EDC has been at "90% of the needed land" for a long time... Oh, and phase 1 is more like 10 acres, not 20. Half of the acreage is a buffer zone.

Why doesn't anyone in this state talk to each other about the boondoggle projects they seek to inflict on the public?

How a new rail line would work

From the Daily News:

The Railroad Option would have the LIRR resume operations between Penn Station and Aqueduct. Two stations would be built — at Rego Park and at Aqueduct.

The latter would allow transfers to the A train and to the Air Train (if it were extended from Howard Beach). If rail cars are developed with the ability to operate on both lines, a one-seat ride from Midtown to JFK would be created.

The Subway Option would divert the M or R subway line east of 63rd Drive (via an already built connection) to the northern section of the Rockaway line.

The subway would converge with the A train north of the Aqueduct Station and continue into the Rockaways. At Rego Park, two stations would be built, one for the subway and one for the LIRR mainline to permit transfers between the two services.

This would allow Rockaway riders a quick trip to Midtown or to eastern points in Long Island.

Under both options, additional stations can be added after consultation with the affected communities.

Partially adopting a suggestion from COMMUTE (Communities United for Transportation Equity), Select Bus Services could be established at the Rego Park stations to take riders to LaGuardia Airport, Citi Field and Flushing.

Thus, Rego Park would become a transportation hub improving intra-Queens connectivity and allowing riders to travel to many different points with only one transfer.

With Genting, the developer behind the project, willing to put up some money and with Governor Cuomo’s strong backing of the convention center, discussing these options is realistic. Since New York City owns the right-of-way, it can build the line itself — as with the #7 extension — if the MTA is not interested.

Andrew still thinks convention center will fly

From the NY Times:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, stung by widespread doubts about his support for the privately financed construction of the country’s largest convention center at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, offered a full-throated defense of the proposal on Thursday, saying the only cost to the state if the project failed would be “an empty building.”

Dismissing concerns about the weak economic health of the convention business, Mr. Cuomo promised that the Queens project would “cost the State of New York bubkes,” while freeing up for development the valuable land underneath the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

In an interview with editors and writers for The New York Times, Mr. Cuomo sounded frustrated about the skeptical reaction to the convention center idea, which he proposed during his State of the State address on Jan. 4. He said the proposed development — which would include hotels, restaurants and expanded gambling, as well as the convention center — combined with the redevelopment of Manhattan’s Far West Side, would generate jobs and significant tax revenues. And he voiced confidence in Genting, the Malaysian company that runs a gambling hall at Aqueduct and proposes to spend $4 billion on the convention center.

Mr. Cuomo dismissed concerns about its distance from Manhattan attractions. He said the complex would attract “more of a mass, blue-collar clientele that probably wouldn’t be going to the Broadway shows anyway,” and said many of those who patronized the convention center would be arriving by plane.

At times, Mr. Cuomo seemed to distance himself from the entire matter, saying that if he had been governor in an earlier time, he would not have supported allowing gambling parlors at racetracks, or casinos on Indian reservations, but noting that those forms of gambling already exist in New York. And insisting that taxpayers have no risk in the project, he said, “If we were investing money that we could lose, this could be a problem.”

Hevesi questions convention center deal

From the Queens Chronicle:

Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Rego Park), like others, is waiting to see how Gov. Cuomo’s proposal to build the nation’s largest convention center in Queens will play out.

But speaking at a meeting of Community Board 5 on Jan. 11, Hevesi said he is troubled by the process Cuomo chose, limiting the development to Genting America, which operates the recently opened casino nearby at Aqueduct Race Track.

“The city doesn’t give out sole-bid contracts and the state doesn’t either, usually,” he said. “Why did we do it here? Why Genting? Did the governor get a deal?”

He also questions whether or not the governor did his homework before throwing the weight of his office behind a convention center as a panacea for state’s economic ills.

“Convention centers nationally are not making the money that they did a few years ago,” he said. “There’s been a drop-off.”

Cuomo’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

And a poll says NYers don't want the thing, anyway.

Marshall's daughter works at casino

From City and State:

* Competition was fierce this summer for jobs at the new Resorts World Casino in Queens, with more than 45,000 people applying for a meager 1,500 positions. One of the lucky hires was Agnes Marie Marshall – who happens to be the daughter of Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, a staunch supporter of the long-stalled development. But those who might find patronage in the hire should look elsewhere, said one source involved with the racino. The job is as a fairly low-level “purchasing agent” in the human resources division. Our source also insisted Marshall simply applied online for the job like everyone else, and that Genting officials were unaware whose daughter she was until they ran into the BP at a recent dinner. A spokesman for Resorts World declined comment and the Queens BP’s office didn’t return a phone call.

Aqueduct opening delayed by bird crap

From the NY Post:

The opening of the city's first casino, at Aqueduct Race Track, has been delayed -- because of massive mounds of pigeon doo-doo.

"There were pigeon droppings everywhere -- on the floors, ceilings, walls, on every surface," said one stunned official.

Genting Resorts World New York has spent more than $15 million to remove lead paint, asbestos and, yes, pigeon waste.

That's a lot of poop -- and one reason why opening day has been pushed back from spring to early fall.

Convention center at Aqueduct?

From the NY Post:

A convention complex could be coming to Queens, right next to the soon-to-open slots casino at Aqueduct Race Track, The Post has learned.

Gaming giant Genting, operator of Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct, is considering building a facility after its casino is completed, sources said.

"They want a convention center to rival Javits," said state Sen. Joe Addabbo (D-Queens), who's been briefed on the proposal.

Genting spokesman Stefan Friedman said, "Resorts World is absolutely interested in undertaking additional projects on the land surrounding Aqueduct -- if the right opportunity exists."

So the convention center won't be at Willets Point? You mean those promised jobs at Willets Point were all bullshit?

State officials have concerns over Genting

From the Daily News:

The latest plan for the Aqueduct racino is no sure bet, the Daily News has learned.

State Controller Thomas DiNapoli has worries about the latest deal - and he must sign off on it before it becomes official.

"We have not received the contract yet, but we have had preliminary discussions with the lottery about some of our concerns," said DiNapoli spokesman Dennis Tompkins.

Sources said the controller's office is worried that the company picked to run the lucrative video-slots parlor, Genting New York, was the sole qualified bidder to emerge.

DiNapoli's office also raised concerns about Genting's 3% stake in MGM Grand, which works with Pansy Ho - whose father is a Chinese casino magnate with reported mob ties - at its Macao casino.

The State of New Jersey was so uncomfortable with MGM's relationship with Ho that regulators forced the company to sell its share of the Borgata in Atlantic City.

One source said the controller's objections are unlikely to torpedo the project. Tompkins wouldn't comment on the severity of DiNapoli's concerns.

DiNapoli and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo both must okay the pact that Genting reached with Gov. Paterson and legislative leaders.

Cuomo's office, which is checking to make sure the contract passes legal muster, also has had some questions, sources said.

In recommending Genting, lottery officials hailed the proposal as the best they'd seen in the nine-year slog to launch a racino at the Queens track.

Judge tosses Aqueduct suit

From Crains:

The state will continue with its selection of a new operator for a slots parlor at Aqueduct Racetrack after a judge Thursday dismissed the lawsuit by a former bidder that sought to put a halt to the process.

New York Supreme Court Judge Barry Kramer ruled Thursday afternoon that the state Lottery Division had a rational basis for its decision to deny a license to Aqueduct Entertainment Group (now called Aqueduct Entertainment Co.) and that it did not act in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner.

The decision paves the way for Lottery to continue vetting Genting New York, part of a Malaysia-based entertainment giant, which is the sole remaining bidder in what has been a drawn-out process. Lottery is expected on Tuesday to make its recommendation to state officials on Genting.

The NY Lottery is backing Genting as well. Not everyone is on board, however.

Locals unhappy with Aqueduct plan

From the NY Post:

Queens leaders said yesterday they want to scratch a plan to have scantily clad Las Vegas-style dancers performing at a proposed casino at Aqueduct Racetrack, while an upstate judge ordered the Paterson administration to halt its latest efforts to open a gambling facility there.

Genting New York -- the American arm of the Malaysian-based gambling giant -- unveiled images on Monday of a proposed "racino" that includes a stage for showgirls to strut their stuff while gamblers play video lottery terminals.

"That's not the type of venue we're looking for," said Community Board 10 Chairwoman Betty Bratton.

Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer (D-Ozone Park) said having showgirls at Aqueduct "went over like a lead balloon."

"That was a mistake. I'm not for scantily clothed dancers. This is not Las Vegas!" Pheffer said.

Meanwhile, a study says a casino there won't be profitable.

And SL Green is protesting.

Putting on the glitz at Aqueduct

From the NY Post:

The only horse left in the race to win the multimillion dollar Aqueduct contract has revealed its ambitious design for the racetrack -- a 400,000-square-foot space that includes a high-end restaurant, an event center and even a stage for scantily clad showgirls.

The plans from Genting New York -- the American arm of a megabucks Asian gaming conglomerate -- call for an upscale Chinese restaurant and a football-field-sized space for social functions and corporate events.

Visitors will also get an eyeful of dancing showgirls while they hit the video slots, thanks to a stage set up behind the machines. The company claims it will be prepared to open the new racino -- featuring 4,500 video slot machines -- a mere six months after getting the OK from the state.

The plans submitted as part of the bid -- the only one left after Penn National and the SL Green-Hard Rock partnership were disqualified for not following competition rules -- also include a food court with 450 seats, an outdoor terrace and a 2,200-car parking garage.

The Asian gambling giant is one of the largest casino companies in the world, but has a pretty puny presence in the US.

It's hoping that Aqueduct will change that -- if it comes out on top of what has become one of the most bedeviled bidding wars ever.

Not so fast...AEG is suing.