A development group that wanted to build a casino in the Catskills is dropping out, saying the possibility of a competing casino closer to New York City would make their proposal unsustainable.
Trading Cove and the Stockbridge-Munsee Community of Wisconsin Thursday said they will not bid for a gaming license in the Sullivan County town of Thompson. The developers say the possibility of a casino in neighboring Orange County would dilute the market and they echoed concerns in Sullivan County about casinos closer to New York City siphoning business. This leaves three proposals on the table in Sullivan, one in neighboring Ulster County, and five in Orange. The announcement comes as Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan earlier this week announced that the proposal for a casino at Exit 23 of the New York State Thruway is a no-go and that the developer is instead looking across the Hudson River. That developer of the so-called “E23 project”, Flaum Management, is also involved in a casino proposal, with partner Caesars Entertainment, in Orange County, in Woodbury.
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