The county where the integrated casino resort is situated is going to purchase the nongaming assets of Resorts World Catskills in upstate New York.  According to the investment bank managing the deal, additional time is required before the high-yield bond sale starts.

The start of the Series 2025 Bonds, which was originally planned for August 27 but was postponed until September 11, has once again failed to materialize, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets, a division of the Cleveland financial institution, which spoke to Bloomberg.

According to a bank representative, more time is needed to give prospective investors the information they need.

"[KeyBanc] extended the timeline for the sale of the bonds to allow additional time to answer questions and educate investors about the credit,” the KeyBanc representative explained.

According to reports, KeyBanc has shown "significant interest" in the upcoming offering.  The securities have not yet been graded or priced by the financial firm.

Purchase of a Resort 

Empire Resorts Inc. has agreed to sell Resorts World Catskills to the Sullivan County Resort Facilities Local Development Corporation, with the exception of the 100K-square-foot casino on the Monticello property, as previously reported by Casino.org.  The resort's nongaming operations and assets will be sold for $585 million.

Sullivan County intends to use high-yield bonds to raise a large portion of the purchase money.  These investment vehicles are government-issued debt securities that carry a higher risk than the average public works project.  On behalf of Sullivan County, KeyBanc intends to issue $561 million worth of Series 2025 Bonds to investors at an interest rate that will be decided upon annually.

 Resorts World Catskill's 18-story, 332-key hotel, the nearby 101-room Alder hotel, the 2,500-seat RW Epicenter, a full-service spa, an indoor pool and fitness center, an 18-hole championship golf course called the Monster Golf Club, 50K square feet of convention facilities, and the resort's numerous eateries and bars will all be acquired with the funds provided by its Resort Facilities Local Development Corporation.

Aside from its casino, Sullivan County's decision to buy Resorts World Catskills is an attempt to safeguard the resort's numerous employment and vital local tax revenue.  Genting Group, a Malaysian conglomerate that owns a 49% stake in Empire Resorts, is reportedly shopping the resort in an attempt to obtain a full-scale downstate New York casino license to turn its video lottery racino at the Aqueduct Raceway into a casino resort destination reminiscent of Las Vegas.

Preserving the Economy 

Of the four upstate casinos, RW Catskills' revenue is predicted to decline the most when the three downstate casinos open in the upcoming years.  Resorts World is by far the closest of the four nontribal commercial upstate casinos to New York City. The other three are Rivers Casino Schenectady, del Lago in Waterloo, and Tioga Downs in Nichols.

The county's motive stems from its conviction that Resorts World Catskills continues to play a vital role in the local economy.  Taking over the property can guarantee that the hotel, convention center, and entertainment offer long-term benefits, even while the casino has long underperformed.  The construction of Resorts World Catskills cost $1.2 billion.