Genting NY still in running for racino deal

KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Malaysia Bhd subsidiary Genting New York LLC is still in the running for the bid to develop and operate a video lottery facility at New York City’s Aqueduct Racetrack, sources said.

Last Friday, New York Supreme Court Judge Barry Kramer ruled that the New York State Division of Lottery can continue to evaluate the final remaining contender, Genting New York, in the latest round of the bid for at least one more week.

The judge also said he would continue the hearing for the lawsuit against the state for rescinding its awarding of the lucrative racino contract to the winner of the previous bidding round on July 29. He is expected to make a decision on the case then.

Last week, Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG), the consortium that won the previous round only to have its gambling licence application denied, sued Lottery and several elected officials seeking a permanent halt to the new bidding process.

Instead, AEG wants to proceed with its plan to develop and operate the racino. Judge Kramer ordered a halt to the latest bidding process on July 14, only to lift the temporary restraining order two days later.

Genting New York and two other US-based parties had on June 30 confirmed that they had submitted a bid for the Aqueduct project.

The successful firm which gets the approval for the project will, among other things, develop a designated and dedicated area to house and operate a slot machine-style “racino” (a combination of racetrack and casino) with 4,500 video-lottery terminals, and food and retails outlets.

Meanwhile, real estate Crain’s New York.com website reported that a Lottery spokeswoman said Lottery would continue with the vetting process of Genting New York and still intended to announce its recommendation on Aug 3, unless it was ordered otherwise.

However, a US Supreme Court in the middle of this month halted any further developments to the proposed racino so that it could ensure whether a previous winner of the same project – AEG – had been wrongly rejected thus the hearing last Friday.