NY Gaming Commission Appoints Two New Members to Facilities Board

In a sign that regulators in the state could be moving to expedite the awarding of three downstate casino permits, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) announced Monday the appointments of two members to the New York Gaming Facility Location Board.

The board is tasked with overseeing the casino siting process in the New York City area. Marlon Phillips, III and Greg Reimers are the two newest members of the board, according to the NYSGC announcement.

Phillips currently serves as the senior vice president for community development and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at U.S. News & World Report. He also has some experience that could be relevant in determining appropriate sites for gaming venues.

Prior to joining U.S. News, Phillips served as the Senior Vice President of Community Relations at New York State’s Empire State Development, managing development projects that included serving as the Chair of Queens West Development Corporation, President of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation and Chief Administrative Officer of the New York Empowerment Zone Corporation,” according to a statement from the commission.

The appointments increase the size of the board to five with Phillips and Reimers joining Chair Vicki Been, Carlos Naudon, and Stuart Rabinowitz.

Board to Make Recommendations to NY Gaming Commission

To date, the process of awarding the three highly sought-after downstate casino permits has been marred by bureaucratic delays and allegations of corruption, with some industry observers describing it as a “circus.”

Recently, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) vetoed legislation that would have sped up the timeline on which the bidding window for those licenses could open, indicating that it will be the end of this year, at the earliest, before there’s clarity on which groups are viable contenders for the trio of permits.

While the commission has the ultimate say, the facilities board plays an important role in the process because there are myriad crime, environmental, and traffic considerations, among others, that go along with selecting casino sites. Not to mention the point that many of the proposed locations for downstate casinos have been met with consistent opposition by business groups, politicians, and residents.

Reimers a Smart Pick, Too

Appointing Reimers to the facilities board is arguably a smart move by the NYSGC due to his extensive real estate experience. He retired from JPMorgan Chase where he was a real estate banker. Prior to that, he was an executive vice president at the Bank of New York.

In each role he was responsible for managing large teams of real estate professionals who provided the Bank’s real estate clients with commercial banking services and real estate related credit,” according to the NYSGC press release.

Reimer’s background could be useful in determining which proposed sites for casino hotels are most viable and which ones come with too much baggage.