By Kevin McCauley
SKD Knickerbocker is guiding Malaysia's Genting Group in its bid to establish a "racino" at New York's Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.
Stefan Friedman, president of strategic communications and PR, is leading that effort. He is a former political columnist for the New York Post.
Genting has agreed to pay the Empire State an upfront $380M license fee, a deal that passed the state's Assembly last week.
The effort to establish slot machines at Aqueduct has been a long political slog. Final approval of the deal is expected by the end of the month. Genting still needs an okay from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The first 1,600 video lottery terminals are expected to be in place within six months. Another 2,900 will be in operation in a year.
Genting predicts its racino will generate $1.5M daily in tax revenue for New York State.
Friedman says the Genting facility will be an "economic engine" for the region.
|