Third-party casino bidder at Nassau Coliseum would need to stick with Las Vegas Sands' terms, official says

Any new third-party developer at the Nassau Coliseum replacing Las Vegas Sands would need to continue the casino resort company's environmental review process and assume all of the terms previously negotiated with Nassau County, a company official said.

That new entity — expected to be announced in a month after Sands announced it will no longer vie for a casino license at the Coliseum — also would not be able to significantly change the size and scope of Sands' $6 billion project before New York's June 27 deadline to submit an application for a state gaming license.

"Given the short time frame left before bids become due, any third party that seeks to assume our project at the Coliseum will also need to assume both the work Sands has conducted to date as well as the obligations and commitments Sands has made to Nassau County," said Michael Levoff, Sands' senior vice president for strategy and public affairs.

The Nevada-based corporation is in talks with several third-party entities that would take over their state application, top executives said, and would need to honor all of the environmental mitigation plans as well as the community benefits promised should a full-fledged casino resort open on the 72-acre, county-owned land in Uniondale.

Sands pitched a $6 billion "integrated resort" on the Coliseum property more than three years ago that would include a casino, hotels, convention center, live entertainment venue, retail, restaurants, open space and a spa. The company had planned to reenter the North America market with a project in Nassau after closing its resort on the famed Vegas strip to build and operate six sites in Asia.

In an investor call Wednesday, Patrick Dumont, Sands president and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, said a new entity that included both in-person and online casino gambling would be better suited for the space. He also said the company decided to buy back stocks and invest more in their Asian properties likely to yield higher returns for shareholders.

Nassau Legis. Seth Koslow (D-Merrick) is skeptical about a new, third party coming in to take over Sands' application and is calling on the administration of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to stop spending public resources to bring another casino company to the Coliseum site.

Koslow, who is running for county executive in the November election against Blakeman, sent a letter Thursday calling on Blakeman to "halt all county activity" related to the pursuit of a third-party to replace Sands. He is also asking for "a full public accounting of expenditures to date tied to this casino project" and a "transparent and community-inclusive process" for any future economic development initiatives involving county assets or land at the Coliseum site."

In response, Blakeman spokesman Chris Boyle called Koslow in a statement to Newsday inexperienced and "a man without a plan." Boyle did not answer Newsday's questions about how any new third-party developer would assume Sands' obligations and whether all of the land-use approvals would automatically transfer over.

A New York gaming license, considered to be a lucrative endeavor, costs $500 million to apply for but comes with the opportunity for casinos to offer live dealers and traditional table games such as poker and blackjack. Sands was expected to generate $2 billion annually from the project in Nassau from an estimated 20,000 daily visitors.

Nassau was expected to get a $54 million up-front payment from Sands, and more than $100 million in estimated annual revenue that would have been factored into the county budget, in addition to millions in community benefits and a new police station on the Coliseum property.

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.