Islandia Village to appeal Supreme Court casino ruling

cials from a village in Suffolk County, New York are set to appeal a Supreme Court ruling that the opening of a Suffolk OTB (off-track betting) casino at a local hotel was the result of improperly issued permits and should not have been allowed to open.

In August 2016, the Islandia Village Board granted Suffolk OTB the permits required to open a casino with 1,000 video lottery terminals at Jake’s 58 hotel despite staunch opposition from villagers, most notably the Mayor who feared that this would disrupt the surrounding community.

Unhappy at the granting of these permits, a case was brought to the New York State Supreme Court, where Justice William G. Ford ruled on 8 September that the approval of permits to the firm should not have been given and that officials had failed to show that a casino is “customarily incidental” to the operation of the hotel.

Justice Ford dismissed this claim on the grounds that no other Long Island hotels have casinos.

In an email to the Newsday website, Joseph W. Prokop, attorney for the Islandia Village Board, stated that “The village used all proper procedures in approving Delaware North’s application for an electronic gaming facility.

“It is confident its position will prevail upon appeal.”

Islandia resident Jennifer Tomasino, one of the plaintiffs listed in the case, said that she was “very pleased” with the Supreme Court decision but added that: “I know that the fight is not over. We have an overwhelming amount of support and will continue to fight.”

The ruling was a bitter blow for Suffolk OTB who were counting on the estimated $15m in revenue to shore up their ailing casino business, which has been mired in bankruptcy proceedings for a number of years.

Despite the Justice’s ruling, officials from Delaware North, the main company behind the gambling venue, said in a statement that they were “confident the matter will be resolved in the long term. In the meantime, the gaming venue is allowed to operate and will continue to do so as it has with great success since February.”

Village officials have three months to appeal the Judges ruling.



Picture: Newsday.com