MONTICELLO, N.Y., March 12, 2013 — Empire Resorts, Inc. (“Empire”) (NASDAQ-GM: NYNY) and the Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council (“HVBCTC”), today announced that LP Ciminelli, Inc. (“LP Ciminelli”), the construction manager for a proposed casino, hotel and harness racetrack to be built by Empire’s subsidiary, Monticello Raceway Management, Inc. (“MRMI”), has signed a Project Labor Agreement (“PLA”) with HVBCTC. The proposed casino project is to be situated on property owned by a subsidiary of EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR), comprising 1,500 acres located at the site of the former Concord Resort in Sullivan County, New York. When the development project receives necessary regulatory approvals and financing, the proposed casino project is expected to create approximately 1,200 full-time-equivalent union jobs during construction.
“This agreement represents a significant leap forward for this project, and is further proof that Empire is living up to its word to build union in Sullivan County,” said Todd Diorio, President of HVBCTC. “Empire and MRMI have proven to be committed partners to both labor and the community. We expect this project will create hundreds of good paying local union construction jobs without having to wait for the multiple legislative and referendum uncertainties associated with the legalization of table games. This project can get built under current, not prospective, law.”
Empire’s CEO Joseph D’Amato said, “A PLA with the HVBTC is important for a project as complex and vital to the community as ours. It is another example of our willingness to work together with local union labor to bring good jobs with benefits to Sullivan County. This PLA, along with the Labor Peace Agreement we signed in August 2012 with the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council, underscores our commitment to being union built and staffed.”
LPCiminelli’s Senior Vice President Frank L. Ciminelli, II concluded, “A union built job will help ensure this project will maintain superior productivity, cost-effectiveness and the quality workmanship that Empire and MRMI expect, and that LP Ciminelli and the HVBCTC can deliver.”
Empire/MRMI and EPR Properties have presented a comprehensive master development plan for the site of the former Concord Resort, conceived by the industry leading architect and master planning firm Hart Howerton. Bringing new energy to a region with rich history, the planned destination resort is expected to include a casino, hotel and harness racetrack (designed by JCJ Architecture, a nationally recognized casino architectural firm), specialty lodging, and a championship golf experience, complimented by retail, dining, entertainment and recreational uses, and new residential communities.
The proposed master development plan represents a new way of thinking about resort development in the Catskills region. The plan envisions a multi-faceted destination resort which we anticipate will become a catalyst for investment in the region. A place to find adventure or relaxation, it will offer family-centered attractions and amenities surrounded by the natural beauty of the Catskills.
About the Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council
The Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council consists of 28 local construction unions and over 10,000 tradesmen and women covering the counties of Orange, Ulster, Sullivan and Dutchess.
About Empire
Empire Resorts, Inc. owns and operates, through its subsidiary Monticello Raceway Management, Inc., the Monticello Casino and Raceway, a harness racing track and casino located in Monticello, New York, and is 90 miles from midtown Manhattan. For additional information, please visit http://www.empireresorts.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
Statements in this press release regarding the company’s business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that may involve material risks and uncertainties. The company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1994, and as such, speak only as of the date made. For a full discussion of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see “Risk Factors” in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year, as amended, as well as the company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the most recently ended fiscal quarter.
