Casino siting board expands to five members

PHOTOGRAPHER: Haley Viccaro

The state Gaming Commission’s Facility Location Board, which is tasked with choosing sites for casinos this fall, now has five members after adding two Monday.

The Gaming Commission unanimously named Dennis Glazer, a retired partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, and Kevin Law, former president and CEO of the Long Island Power Authority, to the Facility Location Board.

Glazer is married to Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore, a Republican-turned-Democrat who was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2011 to head the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. DiFiore was acquitted last year of wrongdoing in a welfare benefits scandal in which officials claimed her former live-in nanny was improperly approved to receive Medicaid, welfare payments and food stamps.

Law currently serves as president and CEO of the Long Island Association, which focuses on economic development opportunities on Long Island, and as co-chairman of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council. Law is a vocal supporter of Cuomo.

The other three members on the board, appointed in February, are Paul Francis, founder and managing partner of Cedar Street Group; Stuart Rabinowitz, president of Hofstra University; and William Thompson, chief administrative officer at Siebert Brandford Shank & Co.

Members of the board have to be state residents but cannot live in areas where they will award four casino licenses — the Capital Region, Hudson Valley and Southern Tier. Also, the Gaming Commission states board members cannot have any ties to gaming activities or a casino operator and project developer proposing casinos in upstate New York, including:

• No close familial or business relationships to a person that holds a license.

• No direct or indirect financial interest, ownership or management in any gaming activities, including horse racing, lotteries or gambling.

• Cannot receive or share, directly or indirectly, in the receipts or proceeds of any gaming activities.

• No beneficial interest in contracts for the manufacture or sale of gaming devices, gaming activities or consulting services in connection with a licensed establishment.

“The requirements for appointment to the Gaming Facility Location Board are intentionally strict in order to ensure that only the best individuals are selected and that integrity is paramount throughout the entire siting process,” Gaming Commission Chairman Mark Gearan said in a statement.

The five-member Facility Location Board will review casino applications this summer and choose four sites for full-scale casinos in the three regions sometime in the fall.