A resolution to the divisive debate over whether a video casino should be placed at Belmont Park got acclaim last week from supporters and opponents alike.
But it’s uncertain exactly how much it will enrich Nassau County.
In a deal included in the state budget approved Friday, Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. will lease its authority to operate 1,000 video lottery terminals to Genting Group, operator of Resorts World Casino in Queens, for $43 million over the first three years.
“This agreement is the best case scenario for Nassau County and its residents; receiving substantial, recurring revenue while ensuring that a VLT facility will not be opened in Nassau County,” said state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Old Westbury) in a statement.
The agreement Martins helped broker and announced in a news release last Thursday keeps video gambling out of the county, allaying opponents’ fears about increased crime and lower property values while giving Nassau revenue proponents have said it greatly needs.
It also eliminates potential competition for Genting, a concern gambling advocates raised after Nassau OTB announced plans for Belmont Park in December.
“It’s just a deal that satisfies everyone, I think,” said Nadia Holubnyczyj-Ortiz of Floral Park, a civic activist who lobbied state lawmakers against the casino. “Floral Park residents and surrounding communities will no longer have the threat of their children being put at risk, their home values being put at risk — all of that is gone.”
Nassau OTB will transfer its authority to operate 1,000 VLTs to Genting for placement at its casino near Aqueduct Racetrack, where it already operates more than 5,400 VLTs.
Genting will pay Nassau OTB $9 million in 2016 and 2017 and $25 million in 2018. After that, the $25 million payment would increase by the rate of inflation, Martins’ announcement said.
The deal passed in the state Legislature is subject to approval by the New York State Gaming Commission, according to a Newsday report.
It is reportedly uncertain, though, how much of those payments will go into Nassau County coffers.
Nassau OTB Chairman Joseph Cairo told Newsday last week the agency will use some percentage of Genting’s monthly payments to pay down its $12 million debt that includes an operating deficit. The rest will go to the county.
Nassau Interim Finance Authority Chairman Adam Barsky called that plan “bad public policy,” telling Newsday it risks the county’s portion if Nassau OTB goes bankrupt.
“This money was intended to help the county, which is in distress, and should not be used to bail out a money-losing gambling operation at the taxpayers’ expense,” he told Newsday.
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano told the paper the deal’s intention “should be to get money to the county, not to correct their operating losses.”
Mangano projected $20 million in video casino revenue for his 2016 budget before OTB announced a location last year. He later reduced the projection to $15 million.
An OTB spokesman said in a statement Thursday the deal would provide Nassau with “substantial revenue.”
In a statement, Genting Senior Vice President Michael Levoff said the deal will aid Resorts World’s growth as New York’s largest taxpayer, which will help it give more to the state education fund and create jobs.
“Resorts World has been an economic engine for Queens and New York State, and this agreement will ensure that engine continues running at full speed,” Levoff said.
Mangano and other lawmakers initially praised the deal last week.
Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) said the agreement saves Nassau OTB the cost of operating a VLT parlor and called the future $25 million payments “a home run for the county.”
Officials had to maintain Belmont Park as a possible site as leverage in negotiations with Genting, Nicolello said, adding that officials contemplated selling or leasing the VLTs to Genting after issues arose with the Belmont proposal.
“I think without the concept of a VLT facility in Nassau County being out there, there’s no way this deal ever happens because they’d have no incentive to do it,” said Nicolello, who praised Martins for reaching the agreement.
In a joint statement, Democratic Assembly members Michaelle Solages of Elmont and Todd Kaminsky of Long Beach said the deal is “a win-win for Nassau County and its taxpayers.”
Both appeared at a rally last week pushing a bill they sponsored banning VLT parlors on Long Island.
“Not only will the communities around Belmont Park be spared from a wrongheaded plan to put a VLT casino there, Nassau County will gain a substantial revenue stream from one of the most profitable casinos in New York City,” their statement said.
Elmont civic leader and ardent casino proponent Patrick Nicolosi said he sees the benefit to the deal, but is “a little disappointed” because it stands to benefit Elmont less and will sacrifice jobs to Queens.
“It’s a good deal for the county,” he said last Thursday. “The question I’m asking is, what’s in it for us?”
Casino opponents celebrated the deal on social media after it was first reported Wednesday night, claiming victory in a fight waged over the past three months.
Nassau OTB abandoned plans last year to site the casino at a vacant Fortunoff Jewelry store in Westbury after widespread opposition from residents and elected officials, including Mangano.
Opposition around Belmont remained strong, with a January rally attracting more than 2,000 people and an online petition garnering nearly 2,300 signatures.
Casino supporters, including Nassau OTB employees, sometimes rallied in smaller crowds opposite opponents at county Legislature meetings and at Belmont Park, saying the plan would create jobs and boost the local economy.
Holubnyczyj-Ortiz said Martins personally told her about the agreement by phone Wednesday evening and held a conference call with other community leaders.
Martins never took a position on the casino, but said in January there were many questions OTB needed to answer. His silence angered many opponents, who have also said they would vote out lawmakers who did not act to block VLTs.
Holubnyczyj-Ortiz commended his work to reach a deal, the details of which he could not share with her when she met him in January.
“They heard us in Albany, both those politicians that were in the forefront in the fight as well as those that were relatively silent,” she said.
Village of Floral Park Mayor Thomas Tweedy, an outspoken casino opponent, said he was “relieved” Martins came through with a solution.
He said he was proud of residents’ work to stop the casino, especially his village’s Belmont Park Task Force.
“It wasn’t the French Revolution,” Tweedy said. “This was reasoned argument that brought this about.”
Nicolosi said officials have told him there are still plans for economic development at and around the racetrack.
“I have to bite my lip, remain cautiously optimistic and hope for the best,” he said.
