Firm unveils sprawling casino plan for old Grossinger's site
A sports complex, an equestrian center and a 7,500-square-foot spa. A 400-room hotel and town houses. Twenty-seven holes of golf and a lake side marina.
And a casino, too. All in rustic, woodsy buildings designed by the firm behind such casinos as the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and Harrah’s in Atlantic City.
This is the more than $400 million Foxwoods Catskills Resort Casino proposed for the 1,200 acres of land on and adjacent to the old Grossinger’s resort site.
The team behind the casino ? Connecticut’s Foxwoods casino and New York City’s Muss Development ? introduced a “sketch plan” of their project Monday night before a supportive crowd of more than 200 at Liberty High School. It’s a project, said Muss’ Chief Operating Officer Jeff Kay and Foxwoods Catskills Resort President Sal Semola, that’s designed to fit in with the woodsy, Catskill mountaintop setting that drew thousands to Grossinger’s during the region’s heyday.
“This is first and foremost a resort,” Semola said. “It just happens to be a casino.”
If Monday’s crowd is any indication, the project enjoys plenty of local support ? especially from the electrical union workers who packed the crowd.
“I’ve seen projects done by Muss in the city and they’re fabulous,” said longtime Liberty resident and decades-long supporter of the elusive Sullivan County casino, Evan Bloom. “I actually think this could happen. The players are for real.”
Still, the project faces stiff competition ? and lengthy state and local reviews ? before it can become reality.
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