State Signs Track Pact For Aqueduct's VLT's
By Domenick Rafter
Genting’s bid to manage the VLTs at Aqueduct Racetrack moved a few steps forward again this week as the Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Gov. David Paterson, Senate Democratic Conference Chairman John Sampson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Sliver, officially giving the approval of all three men to the proposal.
“Genting, a world renowned and experienced gaming company, presented a thoughtful and comprehensive proposal for the VLT facility at Aqueduct. We look forward to the development of a world-class gaming facility that will maximize revenue for the state of New York, create thousands of jobs and greatly enhance economic development in the surrounding community for many years to come,” said Silver, who was the last holdout of the three. He agreed to sign the MOU on Aug. 10, after both Paterson and Sampson had already agreed.
“Genting emerged as the winner of a highly competitive process that saw potential bidders narrowed from an original pool of seven down to one,” said Paterson, who agreed to sign the MOU almost immediately after Genting’s bid was endorsed as the winning bid by the Division of the Lottery on Aug. 3.
Lottery Director Gordon Medenica thanked the three leaders for their quick approval of the project. Medenica strongly supported Lottery’s decision to choose Genting’s bid. Since the winning bid was announced, he had been lobbying Paterson, Sampson and Silver to sign the MOU.
The Office of the Attorney General and State Comptroller’s Office must both review and approval the plan before the process can move forward and shovels hit the ground.
Reach Reporter Domenick Rafter at drafter@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 125.