Add another casino project to the hotly contested Southern Tier. Former (unsuccessful) Reno casino operators Ally and Amin Visram have unveiled Binghamton Casino, which from the outside looks more like a monastery than a casino. Hey, anything’s better than a big box of slots. The Visrams own two large parcels in the Binghamton area but haven’t which one to put the casino on yet. Although having a hotel is mandatory under the state’s gaming-enabling legislation, the Visrams can get around that by putting guests up at their Holiday Inn Arena and shuttling them to the casino by van. ($25 million is being earmarked for a Phase II hotel.)
“The main thing that we want to do is put the casino here where I believe it will put the City of Binghamton on the map,” said Ally Visram, although I think we can agree that Binghamton has been firmly affixed to the proverbial map for some time. Job creation is pegged somewhere between 450 and 550, and the Visrams think their 7,000-foot (proposed) casino floor could generate $156 million of gambling revenue per year.
The Visrams join Tioga Downs, Traditions Resort & Casino (in Union), and Wilmot Casino & Resort (in Tyre) for one, maybe two casino licenses in New York State‘s Southern Tier. The cost of a casino license becomes significantly cheaper if the Empire State chooses to put two casinos in the Southern Tier … but can the region support that many? Some say no, pointing to Tioga Downs, coming off its worst revenue haul in a three-year period. Even Tioga Downs owner Jeff Gural agrees, saying he’s sure two casinos couldn’t survive in the area.
Cruises to nowhere in the waters off Florida returned from extinction on March 15. That was the day of the soft launch of the Island Breeze casino ship. Unlike terrestrial casinos in Florida, it has craps, roulette and sports betting. The former Black Diamond stopped sailing last year. New owner Bradley T. Prader put $3 million into updates and rechristened the ship Island Breeze. Prader brags on the Las Vegas and Atlantic City experience of his staff, which includes COO Sean McManimon, late of Resorts Atlantic City.
However, the big draw is surely going to be the presence of Jamie Gold in the seagoing poker room. (Let’s hope this goes down better than his extremely short-lived tenure at the Tropicana Las Vegas.) The Island Breeze sails 14 times weekly. Bon voyage!
