Six corporate bidders have anted-up the required $1 million entry fee by the June 1 deadline and will participate in the latest attempt to select an operator for the Aqueduct Racino.
According to Morgan Hook, spokesperson for Governor David Paterson, the six are: Clairvest Group; Delaware North & Saratoga Gaming and Raceway; Empire City Casino-Yonkers Raceway; Genting New York LLC; Penn National Gaming and SL Green Realty Corporation.
Of the six bidders, four participants were involved in previous bids.
Clairvest, an Ontario-based banking group with numerous gaming investments, was part of the ill-fated Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG), disqualified in March.
Penn National Gaming and SL Green, partnered with Hard Rock Entertainment were also rejected in favor of AEG in the last round of bidding. According to Lottery spokesperson Jennifer Givner, “It is unclear at this time if SL Green is still partnered with Hard Rock. This was only an entry fee. When the bids are due on June 29, the full makeup of the bidding parties will be made clear.”
Delaware North had been the winning bidder in the prior bidding war, but failed to come up with the promised $375 million before March 31, 2009. Now, it is partnered with the company that operates the Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) Racino at the
Genting New York LLC is reportedly part of a huge Malaysia-based casino operator, which is a majority owner of Empire Resorts and acquired a majority stake in Monticello Raceway last year.
The actual bids are due by Tuesday, June 29, and a minimum down payment of $300 million is required. The $1 million down payment is returnable should any of the teams bow out.
