Sullivan County Bailout: Taxpayers Bleed, Casino Feeds

Public Notice: Sullivan County Has Been Sold

“Good evening, Sullivan County…”

Tonight, the truth demands its voice.

Your local government, your land, your future — have been mortgaged by a handful of men and women who swore to protect it. With the stroke of a pen, they bound you, your children, and your grandchildren to nearly six hundred million dollars in debt.

Not for schools.
Not for roads.
Not for the people.

But for a casino operator who keeps the profits… while you keep the risk.

The names are not strangers. They sit in your meetings, smile at your parades, and speak of “economic development”:

Joshua Potosek, your County Manager, who alone appoints the board that signed the deal.

Howard Siegel, Kathleen Lara, Philip Vallone, Scott Smith, Paul Guenther, Sean Brooks, Ira Steingart, Joseph Perrello, and Edward T. Sykes, serving on the IDA and the new LDC that pushed the bonds through.

Walter Garigliano, the attorney who drafted their resolutions.

And the private beneficiary: Empire Resorts and Genting, who sold off failing assets to the public while keeping the casino’s profits.


These individuals have created a system where bondholders and banks are paid first, lawyers and consultants take their fees, and only scraps are left for the people who actually live here. If revenues fall short, the debt is covered by new levies on our land — your homes, your businesses, your future.

This is not “development.” It is a bailout for insiders. A transfer of wealth from the public to the private.

Remember their names. Demand their explanations. Ask them why the risk was socialized, but the profit privatized.

Because when government forgets its duty, when bankers and politicians cut deals in back rooms, it is not just corruption. It is betrayal.

Sullivan County deserves transparency. It deserves leaders who serve the people, not the casino floor.

And the people are watching now.

Saltwater60 said:

It’s hilarious how they say the Republican trickle down economics doesn’t work but yet they provide millionaire and billionaire business men and women with tax incentives because it creates jobs and tax revenue. Isn’t this the same thing as trickle down economics they claim is a massive failure?
I get it will bring people to the area and create some jobs but anytime you do the math it’s many many years before you get your money back. Some I have figured out have been 150 years.
Look at the bills stadium. It’s 1 billion to billionaires most people get taxed at about 7% income tax rate and sales tax is 4% to the state and 2% to the county with the other going to the city. So we will say it’s roughly a 10% tax. So the bills stadium would have to generate 10 billion in revenue to break even.
Goggle says the bills create $552 million in revenue so every two years it’s a billion. So in 20 years we might break even off them. By then the stadium will need massive work so we will never break even.

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They decoupled all of the liabilities and risk from from the only real asset, the casino, which is underperforming. The foreign owner keeps that and now has a clean balance sheet with a substantial source of revenue. This gives the foreign company massive leverage (borrowing power) to build their new casinos downstate. The county will have to create additional debt and new taxes to service the current debt on the overvalued properties. This is a classic bailout, with the local residents and taxpayers getting fucked, bankers and lawyers making big bucks on every piece of this transaction, and the corrupt politicians getting their kickbacks. Also, Fox Rothschild was involved in the deal. Yeah, Rothschild.

I'm still a property owner in Sullivan County, but no longer a resident, so I can't vote. What other recourse do I have?

Bump. This needs attention.

"It's not my county"? Not yet, but they will do it now too.

This is the most classic bailout scheme, but this is the first time I have heard of one orchestrated by a county government to bailout a foreign corporation. The debt will be a burden on the residents for generations. It can only be paid with new debt and new/higher taxes.

Everyone involved in this deal should be investigated. The taxpayers should revolt.

Follow the money.

County Treasurer Nancy Buck

“Taxpayers should be assured we are handling their monies in a fiscally responsible and efficient manner.”

Bigfoot said:

I'm going off topic for a bit, but.

Here in Genesee County, back in 2001, when the Batavia Downs (a horse racing track) became a so-called "Racino," which means that Albany allowed the Batavia Downs to have video lottery terminals (VLTs) inside the racetracks, making them “racinos”. Then Batavia's video lottery era began.

I suppose it's a casino "light" if you get my drift. IDK.
This gambling sort of stuff isn't my thing. But I'll explain it the best I can.

Anyway, the horse racing track turned into a racino, "casino light" so to speak, and generated a ton of money for the City of Batavia, the Town of Batavia, and Genesee County as a whole.

And here's what I'm getting at. The New York State whatever ma jig realized how much revenue that place was generating, and tried to renege on its agreement with Genesee County on the distribution of dollars. Basically, the cut that Albany gets out of it.

Then, by changing the rules during the game, Albany tried to steal 8 million dollars of that money. Somehow, it didn't work out for the state, and the court sided with Genesee County, and Albany didn't get that $8 million. That money stayed right here in Genesee County, where it belonged and is actually needed.

Not the same thing as what the OP posted about. But meh, I just thought I'd mention it.

The whole gambling thing is so corrupt on every level. IMO
But what do I know about it? So take my opinion with a grain of salt, as they say.

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It looks like the county receives an average of about $2.1M annually from its share of gaming revenue. The details of the bonds are not public yet (which should be a major fucking problem with every single resident) but likely have a 15yr maturity with semi-annual interest payments over the full term. At an estimated 6% annual interest rate, the county will pay about $35M/yr to service this debt. Total county receipts, right now, from the entire business operations (property tax, room tax, etc.) may be as high as $4-8M. How are they going to cover $35M/yr in payments with $4-8M in revenue?

More new debt, and higher taxes.

This is fucking insane.

I'm about to blow a fucking gasket!

I have FOIL requests written and RAO contact info for each department/agency involved.

I'm researching TRO now.

TEOTWAWKI inc. said:

I have FOIL requests written and RAO contact info for each department/agency involved.

I'm researching TRO now.

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FOIL requests submitted. Clock is ticking.

To the Records Access Officer,

Pursuant to New York Public Officers Law (FOIL), I request electronic copies of all records relating to the proposed/approved issuance of bonds and the acquisition/management of non-gaming assets associated with Resorts World/Adelaar by the County of Sullivan Industrial Development Agency and/or the Sullivan County Resort Facilities LDC, including but not limited to:

1) Financing & Disclosure: Preliminary/Official Statements (or POS/OS), trust/indenture agreements, continuing disclosure agreements, rating correspondence, underwriter/placement-agent engagements, fee schedules, and any bond insurance or credit-enhancement documents.

2) Assessments & Security: General Assessment Agreement(s), assessment district parcel lists/maps, assessment methodology and benefit analysis, notices provided to parcel owners, and any recorded covenants/pledges securing debt service.

3) Valuation & Feasibility: Appraisals, feasibility studies, financial models, coverage-ratio analyses, and sensitivity/scenario analyses used or received by the Agency/its advisors.

4) Operating Agreements: Management/operations agreements, leases/subleases, revenue-sharing, maintenance/CapEx schedules, and any termination/default remedies.

5) Governance & Process: Board agendas, packets, minutes, votes/roll calls, executive-session justifications, conflict-of-interest disclosures, recusals, and written public comments for all related meetings and hearings (incl. TEFRA notices, transcripts, and approvals if applicable).

6) Correspondence: Emails/letters/memos with Empire Resorts/Genting, Montreign Operating Co., Empire Resorts Real Estate entities, U.S. Bank Trust (trustee), MuniCap (assessment administrator), Agency Counsel, and any financial advisors/underwriters regarding the above.

Please provide responsive records in searchable electronic form (PDF/Excel/Word/Msg) via email or shared link. If portions are withheld, please produce all segregable material and identify the specific FOIL exemption(s) for each redaction/withholding, along with a redaction log.

If fees apply, please advise in advance of costs exceeding $25. Given the significant public interest, I request a fee waiver.

If any part of this request is denied, this email shall also serve as notice that I will appeal to the Agency’s designated Appeals Officer within 30 days.

Thank you for your prompt attention. FOIL requires an acknowledgment within five (5) business days with either records, a denial, or a reasonable time frame for response.

Sincerely,
TEOTWAWKI inc

Update: They don't seem to want to share any details on how this bailout came to be. Now I need to file Appeals. I'm going to tag some media and watchdog groups in the Appeal. Fuck these scumbags.

Sullivan County IDA - constructive denial of my FOIL request. They acknowledged the request within 5 days as required by law, but failed to respond/deny within the 30 days as they advised they would.

Resorts World LDC - constructive denial of my FOIL request. They acknowledged the request within 5 days as required by law, but failed to respond/deny within the 30 days as they advised they would.

Sullivan County Government - constructive denial of my FOIL request. Completely ignored it.

Stay tuned...

Just found this. I'm still not stopping. Even if the bond issuance never happens, the corruption that tried to allow it still needs to be exposed. Money has already changed hands. People have profited.