KERHONKSON – The storied Hudson Valley Resort needs a lifeline, according to primary investor Eliot Spitzer, or the largest employer in Rochester may close its doors.

He shares his name with a former governor, but what Spitzer needs now is his namesake's political acumen as he walks the halls of Albany, lobbying hard to get a vote on a bill that would allow video lottery terminals (VLTs) in the historic Catskill resort once called the Granit. The stakes are high because HVR's backers have advised that they will shut the doors if VLTs are not approved for the hotel by June 30.

A terse letter from Kennedy Funding, Inc. informed Spitzer, "In accordance with the signed and court approved Forbearance Agreement we are hereby advising you of our intent to demand the keys and closure of the hotel if video gaming legislation is not approved on or before June 30, 2015, time of the essence, and payment is not received by said date."

Kennedy Funding provided the cash to keep the bankrupt hotel operating, and it's clear from the demand letter that president Kevin Wolfer doesn't have confidence in those operations if a little gambling isn't introduced into the mix.

VLTs in Ulster County resorts has been a political hot potato for some time. The last time the subject was broached, in 2013, it received tremendous pushback from the many business and elected officials who were banking on the Nevele receiving a casino license. That did not come to pass, and Spitzer — together with David O'Halloran, who owns Pinegrove Ranch — has been trying again to get a bill passed that would allow some of the terminals at each venue.

What the two men have been using as a unique selling point is the rewards cards users of the VLTs would receive. Casinos use rewards cards all the time to incentivize regular players, but unlike most, these will not be redeemable at the resorts themselves but rather will only be used at local businesses, a theoretical solution to the problem of gambling money never benefiting the surrounding community.

Rochester Supervisor Carl Chipman is convinced that the plan could work, and he's also concerned about the 160 jobs which the Hudson Valley Resort has under its roof. He's been up in Albany, lobbying alongside the business owners to get the senate bill, S.4492, to the floor for a vote. The companion measure in the assembly, A02196, has already passed that house.

After the last redistricting, there are eight legislators which represent some portion of Ulster County, and most of them are on board, Chipman said.

"In the assembly we have Cahill and Skartados, both Democrats, and Republicans Tenney and Lopez," who sponsored the bill, he said. "All of our senators are Republican, and it's been sponsored by Amedore, Larkin, and Seward. The odd man out is Bonacic. He's got a little sliver of Wawarsing left in his district, and he's afraid it will hurt Monticello. That's like building a Little League field outside of Yankee Stadium and worrying that it will affect ticket sales."

Monticello is where Empire Resorts has been awarded a license to convert the Concord Hotel into a casino (see page 1).

Senator John Bonacic is an unfortunate person not to have in their corner, as he chairs the gaming committee through which the bill must pass to reach the floor for a vote.

"The reason we stayed open last year is because we were promised by Bonacic that he would support us" once the casino licenses were awarded, Spitzer said. "We didn't realize he wasn't going to support us until recently."

That's also how O'Halloran recalls it.

"He told us publicly last year that it's just a matter of timing, a need to locate the casinos first," O'Halloran said. "Now he's saying that the casinos must be built and operating before the process is over. The ball keeps moving further and further down the glass hallway."

He commended the staffs of the other seven legislators for their efforts, particularly the offices of Kevin Cahill, George Amedore, and James Seward.

"Seward was the original sponsor of the bill, and is working to get it through but it's a challenge with John blocking us," O'Halloran continued. "Keep in mind where the Hudson Valley Resort's employees live — 90 percent are in Wawarsing, in Bonacic's district."

The Pinegrove is not in peril of closing, according to O'Halloran, but adding VLTs as an amenity would bring in much-needed midweek business. But according to Chipman, if the Hudson Valley Resort does close, that will take its toll on the ranch.

"Each resort lost makes the area less of a destination," he said.

Other players have thrown in with the VLT crew, as well. Two unions which represent workers and builders at the Sullivan County site, Hudson Valley Trades and New York State Hotel Trades, have endorsed the effort, which O'Halloran said undermines any concern that the Monticello casino would be negatively impacted. Ulster County Executive Mike Hein is said to have worked on the governor's office, and thanks to those efforts the governor is expected to sign the measure if it ever passes in the senate. The county legislature passed a resolution in support by an overwhelming majority of 20-3.

Senator Bonacic has not made himself available to lobbyists, but they did manage to corner him in a hallway earlier this week. Chipman and O'Halloran independently confirmed that he advised the men that anyone who lost their jobs could apply to work at the Monticello casino instead.

Reached to confirm the conversation, the senator's press secretary, Conor Gillis, had this to say: "Senator Bonacic takes very seriously, the possibility that individuals may potentially lose their jobs because of financial decisions by a few people. As Senator Bonacic stated in March, he does not believe locating VLTs at resorts in the Catskills region is compatible with the Montreign resort which was selected to be awarded a casino license by the Gaming Facility Location Board. If you give approval to S.4492, what is to prevent further legislative requests for the proliferation of VLT facilities throughout the region and state, destabilizing the gaming market before the new casino proposals which were just selected even begin construction. Accordingly, the Legislature rejected a different proposal, for Capital Region OTB to host VLTs, which was raised during the budget process."

Orest Fedash, manager of the HVR, said when he was reached Tuesday that "it's all political," but he was still holding out hope that the bill would be brought to the floor after the senate resolves issues with rent control laws affecting New York City and its environs.

If that's the case, perhaps some of those city dwellers will take their rental savings to VLTs in Ulster County. Time will tell.