Mighty M to move to the Concord

Mohawks ask ‘what’s going on?’

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe has moved to “cease all efforts relating to the proposed Mohawk Casino at Monticello Raceway.” The announcement on February 11 came in the wake of news from Empire Resorts that the company is moving the Monticello race track and the video gaming machine operation (VGM) a few miles away to the site of the Concord Hotel.

An announcement from Empire Resorts and Concord Associates earlier the same day trumpeted the development of a $700 million entertainment and gaming complex at the site of the empty hotel. According to a release, the facility is “…expected to include a 100,000 square foot gaming area, convention center, hotel, golf, retail stores, restaurants and various family entertainment activities. The 1.5 million-square-foot facility has already received required zoning and final site plan approvals.”

The companies reportedly will not seek to gain approvals for a full casino, but instead the gaming elements of the facility will consist of the VGM operation. Developer Louis Cappelli and his partner Scott Rechler own Concord Associates, and Cappelli owns more than eight percent of the Empire Resorts’ stock.

The latest developments came about a week after the tribe received a letter from Empire Resorts, the company that operates Monticello Gaming and Raceway, that explained that the company was immediately shutting down its development office in Monticello. At the time, the tribe issued a press release saying, “The St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council has determined that Empire’s notice constitutes an express breach of its gaming agreements with the tribe, and is committed to aggressively pursuing any and all appropriate legal remedies to protect the interests of the tribe.” The later release said, “We are angered and feel deeply betrayed by our gaming partners’ decision to pursue a different project with a different partner.”

Empire had made clear earlier that it did not intend to abandon the tribe’s casino project in Monticello, and that the company and tribe should continue to work on a joint litigation strategy to overturn the decision of Dirk Kempthorne, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, not to allow the casino to go forward. The tribe, which filed the lawsuit against Kempthorne in January, said it would now immediately move to withdraw from the lawsuit.

For its part Empire Resorts seems committed to moving ahead with the proposed project at the Concord, which has been labeled an “Entertainment City.” The developers have lined up several high-profile endorsements, including those from U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey, senator John Bonacic, assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and Sullivan County legislative chair Jonathan Rouis.

Hinchey said, “This is an exciting opportunity for the Catskills and it has the potential to serve as a foundation for economic growth in the region.”

The move faces significant regulatory hurdles and requires approvals from the New York State Racing and Wagering Board and the New York Lottery Commission.

According to an article in The New York Times, Cappelli is in talks with Donald Trump to invest in the Concord project. Trump, who owns casinos in Atlantic City, had worked to block casinos from being developed in the Catskills, and in fact Trump and his associates were fined $250,000 in 2000 for running a series of anti-casino ads in the Catskills without disclosing their participation to the state lobbying commission. Now, Trump tells the paper there is a good chance he will invest with Cappelli.

Currently, Monticello Gaming and Raceway is located in the Village of Monticello. If the track and VGM relocates, while it would stay in the Town of Thompson, the move could mean a substantial loss in revenue for the village. Mayor Jim Barnicle said Empire Resorts had promised within the next few weeks to show village officials the grand plan for development at the race track property on Route 17B, where the stables for the track’s horses will remain. Barnicle said the village’s relationship with Empire Resorts has been very good over the years, and he will work with them now, based on that past relationship. He also said he was assured that Empire Resorts will continue to work to open a casino on the 29 acres at the current track that had been reserved for the Mohawks.

The developers say construction at the Concord site is set to begin later this year and will be completed by 2010.

Updated 2/15/2008.