New Casino Lawsuit: Hofstra University V. Nassau County Planning Board

A planning board of Nassau County experiences legal issues over a casino and entertainment resort that was planned to be built in Uniondale. The lawsuit is related to the land-based deal with the Las Vegas Sands, and the hearing in the Hofstra University v. Nassau County Planning Board case will be held on May 24.

Increase in traffic and crime as the main reasons:

The civil complaint about this $4 billion worth of project was filed on April 18, and it’s related to the 99-year lease with Las Vegas Sands. The land in question is all the land around Nassau Coliseum, as well as the Coliseum itself, the Old Barn. According to the plaintiffs, this violates New York’s Open Meeting Law.

The Sands currently don’t operate commercial casinos in the country, but now they want to build an integrated resort that would be located across 72 acres of the Nassau land.

At the beginning of the year, the idea of a big, magnificent Nassau Hub was born. The resort is imagined to be a five-star hotel with various amenities, such as outdoor community spaces and an extraordinary live performance venue that will continue the legacy of the Coliseum, which was the famous place for concerts and other live entertainment shows.

However, the locals, including Hofstra University, are against the new resort. As the main reason, they state that crime and traffic will increase.

Hofstra commented: “In a string of mishandled putative public meetings, the Planning Commission has denied Hofstra University and the public an opportunity to debate serious issues having far-reaching negative consequences for our community.”

Before the agreement upon the lease even took place, Hofstra released an open letter. In March, they criticized the project, saying that it would lead to “increased traffic congestion, crime, economic harm to local businesses, and other negative impacts that a casino development would likely bring.”

The opponents of these projects aren’t so rare in this industry. Just recently, a Times Square casino in Manhattan that Caesars Entertainment planned to build faced strong criticism.

New York licenses:

But despite all the opponents, the New York state is currently offering three new casino licenses. Among the candidates are the Sands, but also Caesars, Hard Rock International, Bally’s Corporation, Mohegan Sun, Wynn Resorts, and Legends/Saratoga.

Two racinos already checked all the boxes when it comes to the requirements needed for these licenses: MGM Resorts International’s Empire City in Yonkers and Genting Group’s Resorts World NYC in Queens.

Three members of the Gaming Facility Location Board will give their recommendations later this year, and then it will be up to the New York State Gaming Commission to decide who will get a license. 

The companies who get the licenses will have to pay the license fee of $500 million. Additionally, they will have to demonstrate a capital development of at least $500 million.