By leaning on the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appears to have persuaded it to reopen the bidding process for a casino in the state’s 
Southern Tier. However, if Tioga Downs owner Jeff Gural thought he’d get a concession by default he’s in for a rude surprise. New York Gaming Commission Chairman Mark D. Gearan said he’s looking for “generate new proposals focused on the Southern Tier.” So it could be a whole new ballgame. Gural, meanwhile, thinks his $87 million purchase of Tioga Downs and promise of additional investment are being given insufficient consideration.
Putting a casino in the Southern Tier is not without its risks. Its 600,000 residents are considered a small population base for supporting a regional casino. For instance, Genting Group is considered an unlikely bidder. Cuomo’s interference in the process comes as no surprise to state Sen. John Bonacic (R). “I always knew, the way the governor 
does his business, he would have a strong influence over the commission,” he told the New York Times. Cuomo’s flip-flop drew a jaundiced reaction from Assemblyman James Tedisco (R): “Every time he says something, he does the opposite when it doesn’t turn out the way he wants it to turn out.”
The Location Board’s choice, Lago Resort & Casino, is also meeting with opposition from nearby racinos. Said Finger Lakes Gaming President Chris Riegle, “The cannibalization factor is so strong. In the end, the state, it’s not going to be any further ahead.”
As I predicted, Cuomo’s bigfooting of the selection process threatens to upset the entire applecart. Newburgh Mayor Judy Kennedy wants consideration of all regions reopened, making the Location Board’s work for naught. (Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus 
has chimed in, too.) Cuomo continues to insists that only the fourth, unawarded license be rethought. Location Board Chairman Kevin Law also says that the Castkills and Capital regions are a closed book. The Southern Tier is a special case, he added, because there is less risk of cannibalization down there. “There, it wasn’t really a cannibalization issue. We thought only one application was strong, and that was the Lago one,” Law explained.
State Senator Thomas Libous (R) was dismissive of pleas coming from outside the Southern Tier. “I’m sure somebody is always going to want a second bite at the apple,” he said, “but we just believe we were shortchanged and that the Southern Tier region could get two — and Tyre is not in the Southern Tier.”
* Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) and his Legislature could play Indian giver with the Seminole Tribe, ashcanning $116 million in yearly revenue and revoking the tribe’s exclusive right to blackjack, baccarat and chemin de fer. This may be a scheme to open the door to private-sector casinos with unrestricted gambling offerings.
The Tampa Bay Times got a hold of last year’s failed compact proposal and found it to contain the following provisions, “craps and roulette would be offered at all casinos, in exchange for $2 billion over seven years; one resort casino would be allowed in Miami-Dade but some payments from the tribe would end; a Seminole tribe casino could be opened in Fort Pierce.” The lone-casino provision in the Miami area would be certain to set off a fearful scrum between heavily invested Genting Group and rival Las Vegas Sands.
Even if Scott favors renewing the compact, the state’s parimutuel industry holds the whip hand in the Lege. Senate President Andy Gardiner (R) is also a formidable obstacle to passage, with time not in the Seminoles’ favor: Their compact expires July 31.
