Will Trump cash in if Bally's wins a casino? A $115M question

Daily Point

Trump factor casts a shadow on the licensing process

By the end of June, nearly a dozen casino companies could end up bidding on one of three available downstate casino licenses.

A few of them have ties to President Donald Trump, mostly through investors or partners who have contributed to Trump’s campaigns. That list includes New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, who hopes to build a casino at Citi Field, and Miriam Adelson, the largest shareholder of Las Vegas Sands, whose plans call for a casino at the Nassau Hub.

But in one case, Trump would directly benefit from a winning bid.

When Bally’s bought out the Trump Organization’s interest in a public golf course in the Bronx, there was a clause in the deal: If Bally’s wins a casino license for the property, it would pay the Trump Organization $115 million.

The deal, first reported by The New York Times, has been spelled out in Securities and Exchange Commission documents and records from State Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud case against Trump. The winning bid bonus is on top of the $60 million Bally’s paid to take on the golf course lease from the Trump Organization.

Trump cashing in on a Bally’s win is now the subject of debate and speculation among observers, elected officials and others only tangentially involved in the casino licensing process, as many questions have arisen.

Would the payout end up being part of a Bally’s application? Would it play a role in the deliberations of that project’s Community Advisory Committee, which will include someone appointed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, whose federal corruption case was just dismissed after pressure from Trump’s Justice Department? And, perhaps most curiously, would a prospective payment to Trump affect the decision-making by the Gaming Commission and Gaming Facility Location Board?

All those questions, of course, are based on the notion that Bally’s will bid — which remains an unknown. To bid, Bally’s has to have the right to develop the land — which requires an alienation of parkland that hasn’t yet been approved by the State Legislature.

If Bally’s does bid, however, the state’s Request for Applications sheds light on whether Trump could factor into the process. It requires a "multi-jurisdictional personal history disclosure form" and supplemental materials for a host of individuals involved in each project, including any director, manager, general partner or "person holding an equivalent position" with the applicant or operator, key casino employees or a "person having beneficial or proprietary interest of 5 percent or more of an Applicant or Operator."

On the surface, Trump doesn’t seem to fit those qualifications, given that he has no financial stake in Bally’s itself and the potential payment is part of a sales agreement, not related to employment or investment in Bally’s or its partners.

But additional clauses seem to widen the scope, implying that the Gaming Commission and Gaming Facility Location Board have wide discretion to determine who is required to complete background checks and other investigatory measures.

"The Commission, or the Board, in their sole discretion and as applicable to their respective duties … shall determine the persons and entities qualifying as the Applicant and any Related Parties, including determining whether to grant temporary or permanent exemptions for particular persons or entities," the Request for Applications states.

The Gaming Commission is allowed to "require" that additional individuals complete background investigation forms and can "initiate investigations" into the background of any applicant or related party. Background forms could also be required from "any other Affiliate, Close Associate or Financing Source of the Applicant as the Commission and Board may at their discretion determine."

The personal history disclosure form is a 66-page document that requests everything from residence and family information to compensation and financial data. It asks questions about past casino employment and requires an extensive criminal history.

"Failure to answer any question on this form completely and truthfully will result in the denial of your application," the form says at the outset.

Even if Trump doesn’t fit into the application’s designated categories and is not required to complete that paperwork, his presence could loom over the process, sources told The Point. Gov. Kathy Hochul might not play a direct role in determining who gets a license, but she chooses the members of the facility location board that will pick the winning applicants. Whether anyone would choose to give Trump a $115 million payout remains to be seen.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Fall street

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Final Point

Deputy mayor's unpaid debts spell big trouble for little Greenport

The mayor of Greenport Village asked for and received the resignation of his deputy mayor — a week before the village’s March 18 election, which apparently was unaffected by the public feud.

Mayor Kevin Stuessi, in a March 14 letter on Greenport Village letterhead, said he asked for and received Deputy Mayor Mary Bess Phillips’ resignation because of "significant indebtedness to the Village, which in the aggregate exceeds $100,000 and has accumulated over many years and remains unpaid."

Stuessi says in the letter that Phillips, who won reelection to the board of trustees with the highest number of votes, resigned as deputy mayor March 12.

Phillips’ lawyer, Abigail Field, of Cutchogue, said Phillips is dedicated to Greenport and has already made two "substantial payments" for her property tax and utility debt, although Field didn’t know the amount. Field said Phillips represents the "real working waterfront of Greenport" and is following through on a repayment plan that includes lump sums and installments.

At issue is whether Phillips, who was elected to the board in 2009 and earns a yearly $11,600 stipend, can be trusted with the village’s $12.8 million budget. Stuessi and other board members said at the March 27 meeting that they had lost faith in Phillips’ ability to steward village finances. Stuessi said in a recording of the meeting that it is important that village residents "have faith in us to know that it is each of our individual responsibilities to disclose anything where there might be a potential conflict."

At the meeting, trustee Patrick Brennan said the board has "hit a new low," adding "I think the mood on the board right now is a little less than collegial."

Brennan expressed concern about how Stuessi handled the issue: "I’m really confounded by the mayor’s poor judgment … I can’t see the timing of this release of information as anything other than a political matter."

In an interview with The Point Thursday, Stuessi said he worked with the board before publicly releasing Phillips’ debt, and that the upcoming election did not factor into the decision.

"It was solely related to the timing of not making payments on a new payment plan which had been agreed upon with legal counsel," Stuessi told The Point. "The board met and made a decision that we should make public the debt issue of the former deputy mayor."

After Brennan’s comments at the March 27 meeting, Stuessi responded by saying that "this is about moving forward" and ensuring that "nothing like this ever happens again."

Stuessi said the board will revise its ethics policy, which he said was last updated in 1975.

At the meeting, Phillips acknowledged the debt by stating she apologized and has been working with the village on refinancing rather than taking "another option."

In a Facebook post, forwarded to The Point by Field, Phillips said her family has suffered several business "catastrophes" and that despite her debt, she is committed to the Greenport community.

Phillips wrote that she and her husband own K&M Properties, Greenport Seafood Dock and FV Illusion, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant money problems for the entire fishing industry but that "keeping our maritime, family business rooted in Greenport has always been our top priority." Public records indicate a $7,000 lien against Greenport Seafood Dock, according to the Suffolk County clerk’s office website, and a $20,500 judgment for workers’ compensation dated August 2024, according to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance website.

In her Facebook post, Phillips wrote: "We look forward to signing contracts structuring those payments" and that the family wants to stay in Greenport "not only as our home but as part of the industry that keeps Greenport real."

As for his faith in Phillips to continue as a trustee, Stuessi told The Point, "Time will tell. She contributed a lot to the village over time …" 

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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