No N.Y. aid for ailing casino, Cuomo says

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday rejected the idea of the state giving financial assistance to the struggling Del Lago casino in the Finger Lakes region.

Cuomo, speaking to reporters at the Capitol in Albany, said he doesn’t want New York to get into the business of bailing out private businesses.

The owner of the Del Lago, Rochester-based Wilmorite Properties Inc., asked the state for financial help, possibly in the reform of reduced taxes, after revenues from its first year of operation came in under projections. The request was made Tuesday during negotiations over the 2018-19 state budget that’s due to be adopted by this weekend.

Del Lago’s owner said in a prepared statement that the casino is having a hard time competing with a nearby gaming hall operated by the Oneida Indians.

WHEC-TV in Rochester reported in February that Del Lago’s first-year revenue of $160 million was more than $100 million shy of projections by Wilmorite.

Del Lago, which is in Waterloo, west of Syracuse, is one of four Las Vegas-style casinos that was authorized by New York officials in late 2014 after voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow gaming halls on non-Indian land in the state.

The last of the four to open, just last month, was the Resorts World Catskill casino in the Sullivan County town of Thompson. Resorts World is the largest of the four, with a 100,000-square-foot gambling floor, 18-story hotel and 2,500-seat event center.

The other two new casinos are in Schenectady and the Southern Tier, and their revenues, too, have been reported to be lower than expected.

Gambling industry analysts have warned a saturated casino market in the Northeast — including the existence of five Indianrun casinos and 10 harness track “racinos” in New York state — could make it difficult for the four new casinos to prosper.