NICHOLS, NY (AP) – Tioga Downs plans a groundbreaking ceremony this week now that a state board has recommended it be granted a license to expand into a Las Vegas-style casino. The Southern Tier racetrack and video casino was rejected in the first round of casino applications. But a state siting board signed off on Tioga’s plan this month, sending the proposal to the state Gaming Commission to formally award a casino license later this year.
Tioga Downs plans a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for a multi-million dollar expansion. Owner Jeff Gural wants Tioga to have table games in operation within six months of receiving a license.
Gural also owns most of Vernon Downs and has said that a full casino at Tioga, about 30 miles west of Binghamton, will bolster the finances of both tracks.
The expansion also will include a 161-room hotel.
