Donald Trump, whose Atlantic City joints were a bust, says upstate New York casinos will ‘go down the tubes’
The Donald predicted the state will take a loss in the not-too-distant future because the market in the Northeast is saturated. Trump says he no longer has financial interests in casinos in New Jersey, and recently has fought to have his name removed from the troubled Trump Taj Mahal.
ALBANY — Donald Trump, whose casinos crapped out in Atlantic City, says New York State is likely to roll snake eyes in its bet on four upstate gaming parlors.
The former casino magnate told the Daily News that the planned casinos will generate excitement and revenue in the short term — but he predicted the state will take a loss on the risky gamble in the not-too-distant future because the market in the Northeast is saturated.
“Ultimately, there’s too much competition and they’ll all go down the tubes,” he said. “The problem is the whole country is becoming one big gambling casino, and many of them will die.”
Trump says he no longer has financial interests in casinos in New Jersey. He recently has fought to have his name removed from the troubled Trump Taj Mahal — he pulled out in 2009 — and its owner, Trump Entertainment Resorts, which is going through its fifth bankruptcy, at least two of which took place while he ran the company.
In the end, it will end up like a lot of other places — like Atlantic City.
New York, The Donald said, is late to the game and will have to compete with gambling halls in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and possibly Massachusetts. New Jersey is also considering casinos closer to the New York border.
Trump, a member of the American Gaming Association’s Hall of Fame, points to the mass closings of casinos in Atlantic City as proof the market is shifting.
“It’s not going to be easy upstate,” he said. “In the short term, there will be excitement and glitz. But in the end, it will end up like a lot of other places — like Atlantic City.”
ALBANY — Donald Trump, whose casinos crapped out in Atlantic City, says New York State is likely to roll snake eyes in its bet on four upstate gaming parlors.
The former casino magnate told the Daily News that the planned casinos will generate excitement and revenue in the short term — but he predicted the state will take a loss on the risky gamble in the not-too-distant future because the market in the Northeast is saturated.
“Ultimately, there’s too much competition and they’ll all go down the tubes,” he said. “The problem is the whole country is becoming one big gambling casino, and many of them will die.”
Trump says he no longer has financial interests in casinos in New Jersey. He recently has fought to have his name removed from the troubled Trump Taj Mahal — he pulled out in 2009 — and its owner, Trump Entertainment Resorts, which is going through its fifth bankruptcy, at least two of which took place while he ran the company.
In the end, it will end up like a lot of other places — like Atlantic City.
New York, The Donald said, is late to the game and will have to compete with gambling halls in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and possibly Massachusetts. New Jersey is also considering casinos closer to the New York border.
Trump, a member of the American Gaming Association’s Hall of Fame, points to the mass closings of casinos in Atlantic City as proof the market is shifting.
“It’s not going to be easy upstate,” he said. “In the short term, there will be excitement and glitz. But in the end, it will end up like a lot of other places — like Atlantic City.”
In New York, gaming at nine already established racetrack video slot machine parlors generated a record $1.9 billion in the 2013-14 fiscal year, thanks largely to the highly profitable Aqueduct racino. Five of the facilities, located upstate, posted net losses.
The numbers overall have declined 2.5% in the second quarter of the current fiscal year. Building four new casinos will simply redistribute some of the revenue by taking away business from the racetrack casinos, particularly at Aqueduct and Yonkers, the two biggest money-earners, experts say.
Lee Park, a spokesman for the state Gaming Commission, said saturation of the market in and outside New York is one of the issues being considered in deciding where to place the upstate casinos. Two are expected in either Orange County, an hour out of New York City, or in the Catskills, while the other two casinos will be located in the Albany region and the state’s Southern Tier.
In New York, gaming at nine already established racetrack video slot machine parlors generated a record $1.9 billion in the 2013-14 fiscal year, thanks largely to the highly profitable Aqueduct racino. Five of the facilities, located upstate, posted net losses.
The numbers overall have declined 2.5% in the second quarter of the current fiscal year. Building four new casinos will simply redistribute some of the revenue by taking away business from the racetrack casinos, particularly at Aqueduct and Yonkers, the two biggest money-earners, experts say.
Lee Park, a spokesman for the state Gaming Commission, said saturation of the market in and outside New York is one of the issues being considered in deciding where to place the upstate casinos. Two are expected in either Orange County, an hour out of New York City, or in the Catskills, while the other two casinos will be located in the Albany region and the state’s Southern Tier.
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