Concord to Exercise Empire Resorts Options
Company to Receive $18.75 mil Infusion
JANUARY 3, 2007. Empire Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: NYNY) and Concord Associates Limited Partnership ("Concord Associates") have agreed to an amendment to the Option Agreement with Concord Associates, pursuant to which Concord Associates has exercised options for 2.5 million shares of the Company's stock for an aggregate cash consideration of $18.75 million to be paid by January 31, 2007. In addition, Concord Associates will retain the right to exercise options for an additional 1.0 million shares of the Company's stock until December 27, 2007. The exercise of these options represents a modification to the letter agreement, dated December 30, 2005, related to the termination of the plans by the Company to acquire the Concord and Grossinger's resorts in Sullivan County, New York.
"We want to thank Concord Associates for working with us to modify the terms of the Options Agreement," said David P. Hanlon, Empire's President and CEO. "With this amended options agreement, we are receiving a significant cash infusion on favorable terms relative to alternative financing options and reducing the total number of fully diluted shares outstanding. These funds will be used to support our growth opportunities including the ongoing approvals and development planning related to the St. Regis Mohawk Casino at Monticello Raceway as well as the development of other gaming management opportunities outside of New York State."
Regarding the development of the St. Regis Mohawk Casino at Monticello Raceway, located just 90 miles north of New York City, the company recently announced that the Department of the Interior had deemed the Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) sufficient and as such no Environmental Impact Study (EIS) will be required. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) related to the proposed federal action approving the Tribe's request to take 29.3 acres into trust for the purpose of building a Class III gaming facility, in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.
Mr. Hanlon concluded, "Today's announcement, as well as last week decision by the Department of the Interior to issue the FONSI, are welcomed events for the company. Much work remains, including securing Governor Spitzer's concurrence before the federal regulatory environment changes. We remain hopeful that his prior public support for Native American gaming in the Catskills, coupled with an increasing understanding of the unique approvals that are currently in-hand, will result in his wanting to 'lock-in' the approvals before the federal government curtails or eliminates opportunities for Tribes to conduct off-reservation gaming."
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