The Suffolk Regional Off-Track Betting corporation wants to turn a vacant 32-acre site in Medford into a casino just two years after a similar proposal failed.
Suffolk OTB was near bankruptcy back in 2016 when it wanted to make its Medford property a casino. But the town’s zoning laws would have needed to be redefined. At the time the Medford Taxpayers and Civic Association, adamantly opposed the casino.
Before zoning could be settled though, OTB made a deal to build a casino at the Jake’s 58 Hotel and Casino in Islandia. Now they want to expand and come back to Medford. Brett Houdek, the president of the Medford Taxpayers and Civic Association, said the casino would be ill-fitting for the community because the property is near a residential area and a children’s playground.
“They are right now allowed to have a single casino with a thousand video lottery terminals. And for them to move back to Medford and expand, they need the state law considering video lottery terminal changed,” Houdek said.
New York State law caps video lottery terminals in Suffolk at 1,000, so OTB would need to go to Albany to get approval.
Suffolk OTB did not return calls seeking comment.
