MGM Mirage won't be speaking at the annual New York Gaming Summit next month. That's no surprise, because the company has backed out of a $170 million deal to build a racetrack casino at the Aqueduct Raceway in Queens.
The cancellation follows four years of regulatory red tape and controversy after employees of the private, nonprofit New York Racing Association, which operates the track under a state franchise, were charged by federal prosecutors in a skimming and tax-evasion scheme. And then there was the casino contract, which was awarded to MGM Mirage without being put out to bid. That angered competitor Donald Trump, who rose (or fell) to the challenge by running newspaper ads comparing the racing association to mobster Al Capone.
Years-old controversy and unresolved delays are mere flies on the company elephant.
"We were a much smaller company when we first looked at the NYRA deal," MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said.
What would have become the largest and potentially most lucrative racetrack casino in the country is small potatoes now that MGM Mirage has more than doubled in size, with major casinos under way in Las Vegas, Detroit and Macau.
"This was just taking up too much of our time," Feldman said.
Liz Benston can be reached at 259-4077 or at benston@lasvegassun.com.
