By Matt Youngfrau
ALBANY — April 13, 2001 – For several decades, Sullivan County officials have been attempting to get casino gaming in the area, but one obstacle after another has arisen and, as yet, there is no casino in Sullivan County.
Now it looks like there may never be one.
On Wednesday, perhaps the largest obstacle yet emerged. State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi ruled that the governor no longer has sole authority to approve a casino. He ruled that approval must now also come from the State Legislature.
The ruling does not affect the two current casinos in New York. However, it will prevent them from expanding. It does affect any project that has yet to be approved, which includes Sullivan County.
Those affected include Park Place Entertainment, which filed an application for a casino at Kutsher's Country Club; the same people who run the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut, who recently announced they had 300 acres near Exit 107; Catskill Development, who first tried to bring a casino into the area at Monticello Raceway; and developer David Flaum, who looked at opening casinos in the Town of Mamakating.
Representatives of the governor's office stated that an appeal will be filed immediately, but it could become a long legal battle that will continue to delay – if not forever eliminate the possibility of – a casino in Sullivan County.