Aqueduct casino firm: Shinnecocks a threat

ALBANY -- The Malaysian casino company building a more than $800 million gambling emporium at Aqueduct Racetrack described the vitality and frailty of its project, disclosing an ambition to add to its investment by erecting a convention center.

An executive for Genting, the casino and resorts powerhouse that plans to build a racino at the Queens track, also warned that the company is very vulnerable to competition, and that if Long Island's Shinnecock tribe is allowed to build an off-reservation casino in Nassau County, "it would be disastrous -- we would probably have to close shop."

The revelations came during an unusual meeting Monday of the Franchise Oversight Board, which keeps an eye on operations of the New York Racing Association. NYRA runs the state's three thoroughbred tracks under an exclusive franchise.

The fortunes of NYRA, which last year faced a cash crisis, are intertwined with those of Genting, which won the bidding to build a 5,000-machine lottery terminal racino at Aqueduct.

Genting plans to open the racino in September or October.

While Genting executive "Colin" Fook Yew Au said the economics of the project are looking rosier -- he expects a whopping $380 in net income per machine per day -- he warned of its vulnerability to a Nassau Shinnecock plan. He added that if tribal casinos open in the Catskills, it would "destroy" Genting's investment, too.

Lottery Division director Gordon Medenica said Au made a "persuasive pitch," but that talk of a convention center space is "premature." -- Albany Times Union