[NYguy]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...d=574908&rfi=6
Racino construction officially underway



by Bryan Yurcan, Assistant Editor
11/04/2010

Genting officials have said they envision Resorts World New York as both a day trip destination and an evening entertainment option.
The company believes the facility will attract residents from throughout the city as well as tourists in large part due to it’s easy access by subway.

Mike Speller, president of Genting New York, also believes the facility will attract short-term visitors who stop by for a few hours, such as those who have a layover at Kennedy International Airport or who are returning home from Mets games.

Speller said the facility will provide more than 1,300 construction jobs and, once completed, 800 permanent jobs. “Queens wants and needs these jobs,” Speller said.

The company predicts that the state will receive at least $300 million annually in revenue generated from the casino, surely music to the ears of the calvacade of state officials that were present.

Genting has said the first phase of the project, which would include some 1,600 VLTs, will be open to the public approximately six months after the first shovel hits the ground. That means residents of south Queens and beyond could be gambling at Aqueduct by late March or early April. Genting expects the full complement of electronic gaming machines to be up and running about a year after construction starts on the project, which should be finished 18 months later.

Once the facility is complete, it will consist of a 93,000-square-foot gaming area on the first floor and a 42,500-square-foot gaming area on the second floor, an entrance with a three-story atrium and water feature, and a 2,200-car-parking facility, with valet service also available. The company is also constructing an enclosed walkway connecting the casino to the Aqueduct A train stop, so those who travel by subway won’t have to brave inclement weather conditions.

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http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...d=574908&rfi=6
With casino on the way, what of the flea market?



by Bryan Yurcan and Lisa A. Fraser,
11/04/2010

Amidst all the hoopla over the gaming and entertainment facility that Asian casino giant Genting is going to construct at the racetrack, known as Resorts World New York, little has been said about the fate of New York City’s largest flea market, which operates on Tuesdays and weekends from April through December.

“Nobody tells us anything about it,” said Yvonne Kissoon, one of the protesters standing outside the track’s front gate.

The protester said she hoped some of the politicians at the groundbreaking event would stop and talk to the vendors, but that none had.

The flea market’s operator, Long Island-based Plain N Fancy Shows Inc., has a month-to-month lease, and Kissoon says neither that company nor Genting has told vendors whether or not the flea market will continue once the casino opens.

“Maybe they will plan to close the market,” said Aftab Hussein, who has worked as a vendor there for more than 10 years selling men’s clothing. “But we want them to leave some space for the market so everybody can survive.”

It’s the only way the Flushing resident makes a living, and if the flea market dies, Hussein said, he is not sure where his next employment will come from. “This market has been around over 35 years, everybody in New York knows this place,” Hussein said, noting that he has had customers from as far away as Maryland.

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http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=85176
Codey continues fight for Meadowlands casino

Harnesslink Admin
10-Nov-2010

"It's good that we're working on some items, but all of this doesn't fix the problems until we are allowed to have slot machines at the tracks," Codey was quoted as saying inthe Asbury Park Press. "States near us are racking up millions and millions of dollars -- even billions, when Aqueduct opens its casino -- from slots at their racetracks."

Codey...noted that countless New Jersey dollars would flow over the Hudson River to Aqueduct Racetrack, where ground has been broken for a $380 million racino that will be home to 4,000 video lottery terminals.

Codey told the Senate panel that citizens of New Jersey "will flock to Aqueduct like you can't believe. Eight hundred million dollars (which is what some estimate would flow to New Jersey coffers if a Meadowlands racino was opened) will walk over the bridges to Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania. That's sad."