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Genting Moves Closer to Developing Aqueduct

Posted on August 11th, 2010

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Senators from the state of New York are pressing for legislative leaders in their state to act as soon as possible in the matter of the contract for Aqueduct gaming, and they want it finalized by Friday. On Monday, Genting New York LLC presented its plans for what they want to do with the racino. The Aqueduct, located in the Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens, currently houses 4,500 video lottery terminals, is project to incur more than $650 million every year in gross revenues in gaming once it will be further developed. Some of the revenue will be used to further Saratoga racing, futher cementing its position as a major contributor to the economy.

In a hearing held in New York, Senator Adams was quoted in saying that the state needs to move forward and that the people of the state and the racing industry have waited too long. State Governor David Paterson has received and accepted the recommendation by the state’s Lottery Division to let Genting New York be the racing operator of the Aqueduct. Further agreement will still be needed Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), and John Sampson (D-Brooklyn), Senate Conference Leader. Adams said he wanted reach both senators immediately to urge them to act swiftly regarding the Genting proposal. As of the moment, a deadline for coming to a decision still has not been set. A spokesman foe Senator Silver,Sisa Mayo has said that they are currently reviewing the proposal and they expect to “come to a resolution pretty quickly.”

Genting New York is an arm of a company that owns a number of luxury and high-profile casinos all over the world. The firm, based in Malaysia, has cash on hand amounting to $1.8 billion, ready to be used to fund the building of the facility. It has also promised to give a $380 million licensing fee upfront to the state if plans push through. The president of Genting New York, Mike Speller was the former president of Foxwoods in Connecticut. He was a contributing factor to the development of the Seneca Niagara casino in the western area of New Yorkl. Foxwoods had Genting as its original investor. Aside from casinos, Getting also owns Norwegian Cruise Lines which is worth billions of dollars and adds tens of thousands of tourists to New York every year.

If plans push through, Aqueduct will be Genting’s first venture into the US casino industry. Once successful, the firm also plans to expand to other location. The company’s spokesperson, Jay Walker said that their chairman sees Aquduct as their “starting point” and that they will be “building their showcase in Queens.” With financial problems plaguing their jurisdiction, racing industry and state leaders are only too excited to start with the Aqueduct project to begin. Genting for its part stated that within six months of a contract being signed, the first 1,500 video lottery terminals will already be installed. A year later, the whole facility will be fully complete. Foxwood’s Seneca Niagara took 100 days before it opened. In terms of tax revenues, the New York Racing Association is poised to get 7 percent of gaming revenue, which is projected to be at $45 million every year. 6.5 percent will go to purses, which will increase after three years to 7.5 percent.

Charles Hayward, NYRA President and CEO claims that the racing industry will ultimately also benefit from an endorsement of the Lottery’s selection of the Genting bid. He also praises Senator adams for giving priority to the Aqueduct issue. Genting projects that the new attraction, which will be grand in scale, with a main lobby three stories high and featuring a dramatic water display, will be visited around 47 million people annually. Aside from being neighbors with the John F. Kennedy International Airport, Genting also hopes to have the facility better connected through subways to Manhattan.

A projected 1,373 jobs in construction and 800 full-time employment opportunities await once the facility will be completed. Genting officials also say that the facility will be very varied, and not just a place for slot machine playing.