Sullivan casino to benefit Stewart

NEW WINDSOR – Empire Resorts’ self-described “casino guy” sprinkled some pixie dust over Stewart International Airport Tuesday, suggesting its $1.1 billion project in Sullivan County will bring “more flights, more routes, more gates” to the airport.

“This airport is going to be so important to our business,’’ said Charles Degliomini, executive vice president of government relations for the NASDAQ-traded company.

Speaking at the bi-monthly meeting of the Stewart Airport Commission, Degliomini used maps, charts and videos to give members a short history of how casino gambling came to New York and how Empire secured one of three licenses in a dramatic competition among major industry players last year.

He credited the company’s success to “a better mousetrap … a proposal that wasn’t just a casino” and predicted the resort will ultimately attract four million new visits to the region a year.

Construction on 1,700 acres of the former Concord Resort in the Town of Thompson has already begun, reflecting the state’s requirement that casinos open within two years of the formal receipt of their licenses – due any day now.

The 333-room Montreign casino hotel, with 2,000 slot machines, 130 table games and private gaming salons, could open as soon as December 2017. The old Monster golf course, being reimagined by Rees Jones, will follow in short order, as will an entertainment village with theaters, nightclubs and restaurants and a 350-room indoor waterpark hotel.

Shopping, Degliomini said in an aside, will play a minor role at the resort since Empire can’t compete with Woodbury Common Premium Outlets.

Everything, he emphasized, is being designed to meet the industry’s standards for five-star attractions and amenities – one level above what Empire originally proposed.

“We want very high-end amenities for very high-end players,’’ he said, explaining the company believes this part of the gaming market is underserved. “This is why the airport is so important to us, to attracting the widest possible audience … people who will get on a plane to go to a casino.”

Empire expects some customers will fly their own jets to the Sullivan County Airport, about 15 minutes from the casino, but Stewart is where commercial and charter flights from across the United States and abroad will have to land. Customers will then be whisked to the casino via helicopter or luxury shuttle buses.

Stewart, which already has U.S. Customs services, plans to expand its terminal next year to improve its ability to process international flights and passengers.

“This is no longer a fantasy,’’ said Degliomini. “This is what is going to happen.”