NICHOLS, N.Y. — The New York Gaming Facility Location Board today gave its formal imprimatur to Tioga Downs Casino Racing & Entertainment to develop a full-fledged commercial casino.
The board last October issued a 267-page report recommending Tioga Downs for the state’s fourth and final casino-gaming license.
Today, it formally adopted that report, according to a tweet from the New York State Gaming Commission, which regulates all gambling activity in the Empire State.
Tioga Downs Casino Racing & Entertainment, owned by Jeff Gural, proposes a facility that includes a nearly 33,000-square-foot casino with 1,000 slot machines and 50 gaming tables, according to the board’s report. It will also include 161 hotel rooms, multiple restaurants and lounges, a spa, an outdoor concert venue, and a new Tioga Country Club clubhouse.
Tioga Downs estimates it will create more than 1,100 new jobs.
The next step is for the Gaming Commission to issue a license to Tioga Downs. A decision on that is expected later this year. Licenses have already been issued to the three other casino projects in upstate New York, including Lago Resort & Casino in Seneca County. The other two casinos are in Schenectady and the Catskills, respectively.
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