With just under a month to go before final applications are due, three of the original 22 applicants have officially dropped out of the running.

• The Cordish Companies and Penn National Gaming, joint venture partners who had submitted two application fees for two potential projects, announced they will no longer pursue the project in the Albany region and will focus their efforts on winning a license in Orange County, the area closest to New York City where a casino may be located. 
• Pinnacle Entertainment, a Las Vegas-based casino operator interested in partnering with Rochester-based developer Flaum Management to operate a potential casino in the Albany region, dropped out after Flaum decided to team with Global Gaming, an affiliate of the Chickasaw Nation tribe, on the project.
• Rolling Hills Entertainment, who had not disclosed what its plans were, also removed itself from the race.

For those who remain in the running, the Board has shown some flexibility in accommodating the remaining applicants by allowing additional questions and answers.

Even though the initial schedule only provided for two rounds of questions that wrapped up in mid-May, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board (the “Board”) has announced that it will permit casino license applicants to submit additional questions about the RFA process.

Although the formal Q&A opportunities have passed, the Board will respond to questions if the answers will provide new guidance.  Answers to additional questions will be emailed to all applicants and posted on the website of the New York State Gaming Commission (the “Commission”).  The RFA stated that the dates provided in the schedule that included only two rounds of questions were established for informational and planning purposes and that the Board reserved the right to make adjustments to the schedule.

This flexibility acknowledges the abbreviated nature of the Board’s schedule and the need to make accommodations to this schedule to ensure that all remaining applicants can successfully complete the application process by the June 30 deadline.