New York Gaming Facility Location Board Loses Another Member, Regulators Quiet

Posted on: February 26, 2025, 03:55h. 

Last updated on: February 26, 2025, 03:55h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • The New York Gaming Facility Location Board continues to experience turnover
  • The Board is responsible for deciding where casinos in downstate NY will be located
  • Each of the three licenses comes with a $500 million fee

The New York Gaming Facility Location Board has a new member in Terryl Brown, the vice president and general counsel at Pace University.

New York Gaming Facility Location Board casinos
The board composed of five people who will decide where New York City’s casinos are located continues to change. This week, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board fielded yet another new member. (Image: Shutterstock)

Brown was quietly approved to the GFLB this week by a unanimous vote from the New York State Gaming Commission. Brown’s appointment came after Ponce Bank CEO Carlos Naudon abruptly resigned Feb. 20.

The Gaming Facility Location Board’s work can be transformational for the State of New York,” said Commission Chair Brian O’Dwyer. “Ms. Brown brings a wealth of experience, expertise, and public service to the team that will evaluate casino proposals.”

Brown previously worked as the deputy commissioner of legal affairs for the New York City Fire Department. On the GFLB, Brown and her four board colleagues, Chair Vicki Been and Board Members Marion Phillips, III, Stuart Rabinowitz, and Greg Reimers, will be responsible for deciding where the three casino licenses are allocated for New York’s downstate region.

Casino Board Changes

Naudon did not provide reason, at least publicly, for departing the New York Gaming Facility Location Board.

“Please accept this letter as my formal resignation … effective immediately,” Naudon wrote in his resignation letter to the GFLB and State Gaming Commission. “It was a pleasure assisting in the work of the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board.”

The GFLB nor the Gaming Commission issued statements on Naudon’s exit. That was also the case when Quenia Abreu, president of the New York Women’s Chamber of Commerce, resigned from the GFLB in November.

“I am writing to inform you that effective today, November 4, 2024, I am resigning my position as a Board Member of the Gaming Facility Location Board,” Abreau’s short resignation letter read. “It has been an honor to work alongside such dedicated colleagues on a project of great importance for the State of New York.”

Abreau was also quickly replaced, with the State Gaming Commission appointing Marion Phillips III, an executive at U.S. News & World Report. Phillips was appointed along with Greg Reimers, a former executive at JPMorgan Chase, who occupied a seat that had remained vacant since 2023.

Rotating Boardroom

The five members initially appointed to the New York Gaming Facility Location Board were to serve on the state agency through its awarding of the three gaming concessions. But since its first meeting in 2014, the GFLB has seen considerable turnover.

Previous GFLB members include Paul Francis, a former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, attorney and Long Island Association President Dennis Glazier, Stony Brook University Council Chairman Kevin Law, and former New York Comptroller William Thompson.

GFLB members must be New York residents and have at least 10 years of experience in accounting, finance, economics, commercial real estate, or an executive capacity of a “large organization.” Board members cannot have close relationships with anyone in the gaming industry nor have a financial interest in gaming companies or their affiliates.

The GFLB is expected to soon begin fielding applications for the three concessions. A decision is likely before Dec. 1, 2025.