Las Vegas Sun

February 12, 2012

Currently: 54° | Complete forecast | Log in

Ex-Vegas casino exec among group to operate N.Y. video lottery

Associated Press

Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 | 5:38 p.m.

Sun coverage

ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Gov. David Paterson said Friday that he and legislative leaders have chosen a consortium that includes several builders and a former Las Vegas casino executive to install and operate video lottery terminals at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he agreed with the selection of Aqueduct Entertainment Group subject to conditions, including raising the upfront licensing fee from $200 million to $300 million.

In November, AEG said it had advised Paterson its would make an upfront payment of at least $200 million for the license fee and would open within six months of executing a memorandum of understanding.

The group did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

According to Paterson, AEG had financial viability and best fulfilled the selection criteria, though all five groups under consideration had valid proposals.

"AEG presented a comprehensive bid that enjoys community support and also offers strong marketing appeal," he said.

It has been eight years since lawmakers approved a plan to install as many as 4,500 such gambling machines at the thoroughbred track, with a percentage of revenues paid to the state.

The New York Racing Association, which has the franchise to run New York's three thoroughbred tracks, has threatened to cancel the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park if lawmakers don't get moving on the plan.

Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook said Friday that the administration hopes to have the memorandum of understanding signed within 30 days, with the upfront payment due then.

According to AEG, its partners are the Navegante Group led Larry Woolf, former chief executive of MGM Grand Hotels in Las Vegas; building contractor Greenstar Services Corp.; Turner Construction Co.; Levine Builders; the Darman Group Inc. and Empowerment Development Corp.; PS&S Design; Siemens; and merchant bank Clairvest Group Inc.

Discussion: comments so far…

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.

Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.

No trusted comments have been posted.

Post a comment

Commenting requires registration.

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy.

If you would like to submit your comment as a letter to the editor, you may submit it here.

Most Popular

  • Viewed
  • Discussed
  • E-mailed
  • Facebook