A $1.5 billion lawsuit between rival casino operators in New York State and a political tug-of-war in Florida have delayed major developments from springing up in their respective states.
The news comes amid serious concerns from stakeholders in The Bahamas concerning mounting competition to the gambling product.
Back in November, George Markantonis, the president and managing director at Kerzner International (Bahamas), told Guardian Business that more legalized gambling in these states is "absolutely a concern" for future tourism numbers. Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, the minister of tourism and aviation, said casino services in Florida represent "the loss of a significant advantage".
But plans for both New York State and Florida appear to be at least temporarily derailed.
According to recent court documents obtained by Guardian Business, Concord Associates has filled a $1.5 billion lawsuit claiming a "racino", a facility in which horse race betting and other types of gambling are done electronically, has conspired to block its plans for a $600 million entertainment complex in upstate New York.
Phase one of the proposed casino resort would include a 75,000 square-foot casino and 258-room hotel, including five restaurants, entertainment spaces and 10,000 square feet of meeting space.
Concord, the owner of 116 acres on the site of the Concord Hotel in Thompson, New York, was supposed to gain access to an additional 1,500 acres of land courtesy of Entertainment Properties Trust (EPT).
Concord alleges that EPT is now repudiating an earlier agreement on behalf of Monticello Raceway Management, the rival "racino" .
Monticello Raceway Management, a subsidiary of Empire Resorts Inc, is the only race track and legal gaming facility within 80 miles.
"Empire and the EPT defendants have combined and conspired to take actions which were and are intended to prevent, and which have prevented, plaintiffs from establishing a competing racino at the site of the former Concord Hotel and the resort in the Town of Thompson in Sullivan County, approximately four miles from the Monticello Casino," the court document said. "To foreclose plaintiffs' access to such property, Empire has induced Entertainment Properties to repudiate agreements with platinizes and deny platinizes the use of these essential facilities."
Concord claims these actions represent "anticompetitive and monopolistic practices".
Meanwhile, in an unrelated matter, a Florida House of Representations subcommittee deferred a vote last month that would have paved the way for gambling resorts in the state.
The move temporarily blocked a Malaysian conglomerate from beginning work on a $3.8 billion casino resort in downtown Miami.
Prior to the deferred vote, two counties in Florida had passed referendums allowing slot machine gambling, which now require state-level approval. State law currently prohibits casinos from expanding beyond businesses run by the Seminole Indian Tribes and selected racetracks.
Resorts World Miami, backed by the Kuala Lumpar-based Genting Group, is planning a mega resort that includes a casino, four hotels, two residential towers, a shopping center, more than 50 restaurants and nightclubs and 700,000 square feet of convention and meeting space.
Markantonis called the Genting Group "high caliber" and felt The Bahamas would have to greatly "up its game" if the development ever came to fruition.
Indeed, both developments in New York State and Florida could also present unwelcomed competitive to Baha Mar, the $2.6 billion resort rising on Cable Beach, which boasts the largest casino in the Caribbean as a centerpiece of the project.
"I will say in this particular case that there are two factors that make this a bigger concern in general," Markantonis said. "About 15 percent of our business is dedicated casino business. Many of our guests are coming here for our casino as well as perhaps other attractions."
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