Greg Matzel's $3 billion Development Plan for the Pocono Manor Inn & Golf ResortIncludes Constructio

Dennis Gomes Named Exclusive Manager of Development's Gaming Division

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. October 14, 2008

NOVEMBER 10, 2005, Greg Matzel, President of Matzel Development, a New Jersey and Pennsylvania-based real estate development company, today unveiled his team of partners and consultants hired to bring a world-class gaming resort to the Poconos. Matzel's $3 billion development plan for the Pocono Manor Inn & Golf Resort includes construction of a one-million-square-foot hotel and casino complex housing 5,000 slot machines and 750 rooms. Along with retail shopping, a spa, two golf courses and countless other amenities, the Pocono Manor property would be transformed into the finest casino resort destination on the East Coast.

Leading the list of companies joining the Matzel team is Gomes Gaming Management, LLC. Matzel and President Dennis Gomes have inked an agreement that establishes GGM as the exclusive manager of Matzel's newly created gaming division, which will include the management and operation of the resort and casino to be developed at Pocono Manor. Gomes' remarkable 35-year career in the gaming industry includes stints as President of both the Tropicana Casino & Resort and Trump Taj Mahal Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City and President of the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, among other senior-level posts at well-known resorts and casinos. At the Tropicana, Gomes is credited with the vision for creating The Quarter - the Trop's highly acclaimed, $285 million retail, dining and entertainment complex.

"With Dennis leading our gaming operation, we now have a team in place that is second to none - not only in Pennsylvania, but anywhere in the country," said Matzel. "With his unparalleled background in the gaming industry, Dennis Gomes could have gone anywhere. It speaks volumes about our proposal that he chose to join our team. Like me, he sees the potential to create a truly unique destination - one that will dazzle visitors but also will be respectful to the amazing beauty of the Pocono region that has made it a vacation paradise for more than a hundred years."

Matzel said Gomes is recognized in the industry for his character and integrity, noting that Gomes' background includes years in law enforcement as an investigator of casino operations in both Nevada and New Jersey. It was Gomes' dogged investigation of the Stardust Casino organized crime skimming operation in Las Vegas that was the basis for the Martin Scorsese film, "Casino."

"That unique combination of experiences as a leader of casino operations and as an investigator makes Dennis the ideal man to run our gaming operation. His vision helped to bring great success to men with names like Wynn, Trump and Hilton. Working with the rest of our team, I have no doubt he'll bring that same vision to this project."

"For me, the gaming business has always been more about the people," said Gomes. "After meeting Greg and seeing his vision and passion for this project, I was on board. Frankly, I'm at a point in my life where I don't need to work. But there is something about the people involved with this project - and the opportunity to create something that is truly special - that compelled me to want to devote the amount of energy it takes to do it right."

Pocono Manor Inn & Golf Resort is a joint venture of groups headed by accomplished real estate developers Greg Matzel and Morris Bailey. Matzel and Bailey have collaborated on real estate ventures for the past 11 years. Projects include residential and commercial developments in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as well as a 288-unit luxury rental community in Carteret, NJ scheduled to break ground in January 2006.

The real estate entities of the family of Morris Bailey, now headed by Mr. Bailey's son-in-law Joseph Jerome, own and manage a large private portfolio of hotel, residential, retail and office properties in North America currently valued in excess of $4 billion. The companies, JEMB Realty Corp. (http://www.jembrealty.com/) in the United States, and Busac Real Estate (http://www.busac.com/) in Canada, are recognized for hands-on asset management, including extensive and sensitive restoration and redevelopment programs, to achieve the highest and best use of each property. In addition to the Pocono Manor Casino and Resort, the family of Morris Bailey is currently developing an $800 million power plant in Astoria, NY, and a 1.5-million-sq.- ft. mixed-use development for the University of Quebec.

The balance of the impressive list of companies signed on to the project consists of some of the most respected names in the gaming industry including:

Spectrum Gaming Group, LLC, Northfield, NJ, is providing economic and feasibility studies and analysis as well as regulatory counsel and services.

Michael & Carroll, P.C., Atlantic City, NJ, is serving as gaming counsel, providing legal counsel for licensing and gaming-related issues.

New England Design, Inc. / Thematic Design International, Mansfield, CT, is the project's conceptual design firm responsible for conceptual planning, drawing and layouts of the proposed site plan and structures.

The S/L/A/M Collaborative, Glastonbury, CT, is the architectural firm primarily responsible for designing structures that support gaming and the specific requirements that gaming facilities require.

Vibrant Development Group, LLC, Philadelphia, Pa., is a strategic planning firm specializing in the planning and development of large- scale destination real estate projects.

Urban Research & Development Corporation, Bethlehem, Pa., is providing community planning, economic research, land planning, landscape architecture and site engineering.

Calyon, New York, NY, is providing financial and lending advisory services.

Morowitz & Company, LLC, Absecon, NJ, is developing internal accounting procedures, operating budgets and providing financial projections.

In addition to the impressive roster of gaming consultants, the following Pennsylvania firms have been hired as consultants because of their expertise in their respective fields:

Blank Rome, LLC., Philadelphia, Pa., is serving as lead legal counsel.

Newman, Williams, Mishkin, Corveleyn, Wolfe & Fareri, P.C., Stroudsburg, Pa., is serving as local legal counsel.

Cultural Resource Consulting Group, Philadelphia, Pa., is providing historical analysis and counsel.

Pennoni Associates, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., is providing general site engineering in addition to traffic analysis, impact and planning.

Neiman Group, Harrisburg, Pa., is providing strategic communications and public relations counsel.

"Our number one goal is to prove to the gaming board, but most importantly to the residents of the Pocono Region, that we are more than capable of delivering a first-class facility to Pennsylvania," said Matzel. "I couldn't be more proud of this team of partners and consultants, all of whom bring a level of expertise, not to mention character and integrity, to our efforts that will be hard to match by any competing application." Matzel said his team will be submitting its application for a Category Two license to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in the next 60 days.

Pocono Manor Inn & Golf Resort currently resides on over 3,000 acres (5.5 square miles) in Tobyhanna and Pocono Townships as well as the Borough of Mt. Pocono. Residing in its own zip code, the existing resort consists of a 257- room hotel and conference center, a golf facility with two 18-hole golf courses, equestrian center, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, skeet shooting range, and miles of trails used for hiking, cross country skiing, horseback riding and snowmobiling.

Matzel's development plans include a resort and casino, full-service spa, fitness center and world-class dining and retail space. Initial plans also include a 300,000-square-foot retail village, a 100,000-square-foot village green for outdoor events, a twelve-acre lake in front of the hotel and casino and two 18-hole championship golf courses.

In addition to plans for building a new resort and casino on the property, Mr. Matzel's plans include restoring and renovating the existing manor inn as well as restoring many old buildings currently housed on the site. In the interest of maintaining the natural beauty of the landscape, Mr. Matzel is committed to keeping approximately one third of the property undeveloped.