Southern Tier's largest casino plan puts resort near Thruway
Jon Harris
TYRE — This community is a place where some dirt roads make it easier to get stuck in the mud than in traffic. Several yellow signs along the roadways urge drivers to share the road with the area’s horses and buggies.
The population is 981. Red barns accompany many homes, which are endlessly surrounded by open fields. Even its premier diner — the Magee Diner — is in the shape of a barn.
But this town, north of the New York State Thruway at the top of Seneca County, is where a large and influential shopping mall developer from Rochester wants to build a $350 million casino. It would have about 2,000 slot machines, at least 100 gambling tables and a 200-room hotel, and be a gambling mecca comparable to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
While some Tyre residents are opposed to the seemingly misplaced location for the Southern Tier’s casino, others tout it as much-needed economic development that will create thousands of jobs, generate hundreds of millions annually in gambling revenue, and provide property tax relief.
http://www.ithacajournal.com/article/20140222/news01/302220022/southern-tier-s-largest-casino-plan-puts-resort-near-thruway?odyssey=mod|dnmiss|umbrella|1