“On the face of it, looks like it might preclude two of the three licenses from being issued to the Catskills,” said Nevele Investors LLC CEO Michael Treanor.

Plans to transform Ellenville’s rundown Nevele Hotel into a casino resort destination is now facing some serious competition as a result of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s latest plan to regionalize the state, placing Ulster and Sullivan counties under the same umbrella and ultimately bidding directly against each other.

“To put us in competition, so now we have to try to claim that we should get the one casino that the governor has designated to the area as opposed to Sullivan County is really unfair,” said Ellenville Mayor Jeffrey Kaplan.

Sullivan County is the home of the Monticello Casino and Raceway, a multi-million dollar gaming firm, which is now vying for the same full casino license as Ulster County’s Nevele project.

But all those involved say they feel two full Class 3 facilities in the Catskill Region would be better than one. Many are now hoping for some flexibility with the regional boundaries such that the two counties can both be considered for a license.

In the meantime, Treanor remains confident things with work in his favor.

“Competition is a good thing,” said Treanor. “We believe we’ll get this license for this region and that will leave us with a full gaming license and Monticello would still have slots and still have a casino.”

Adding he’ll continue to move his project forward, complete approvals and be ready to train 1,700 direct employees come November.

“We want to keep pushing. We want this Nevele project for our area. We want Ulster County to be considered. We think we deserve it,” said Wawarsing Supervisor Scott Carlsen.

(Source: YNN)