Sullivan County is asking investors to lend more than half a billion dollars to rescue the struggling Resorts World Catskills, touting rosy predictions that the casino resort will soon be flooded with visitors and make dramatically more money — even though its own consultants predict the opposite.
Here’s the county’s pitch. Investors would buy up to $585 million in bonds from the county’s newly-formed local development corporation, spun out of its Industrial Development Agency, or IDA. The corporation would buy two hotels, a golf course, and an event venue — almost everything except the casino itself — from the current owner, Empire Resorts, Inc.
