Albany
One of the four upstate casinos currently under construction — the most ambitious project — has yet to close on its financing.
While the Montreign casino and resort in the Catskills community of Thompson is still slated for a 2018 opening, its developers are awaiting the results of a New Jersey gaming referendum before finalizing the financing with their main lender, Credit-SuisseAG.
Garden State voters will decide in November whether or not to authorize the development of casinos in two northern New Jersey counties. Facilities have been proposed for the Meadowlands and Jersey City.
The decision is likely to affect the interest rate that Empire Resorts, Montreign's parent company, will have to pay.
Those involved in the deal stressed that it won't impact the ultimate outcome and Montreign will get the financing it needs either way. But the wait illustrates the challenges that come with entering the increasingly crowded casino market in the Northeast.
If New Jersey voters approve their November referendum, Montreign would likely have to pay a higher interest rate. That's because the project is the closest of the four upstate casinos to the Meadowlands.
"Investors might find it a riskier deal, which could lead to a higher interest (rate), or make it more challenging to get it done," said Keith Foley, a senior vice president at Moody's Investor Group rating service, referring to the prospect of increased competition.
Montreign is 90 miles from New York City, while the Meadowlands is about 15 miles.
The other upstate casinos under development are Rivers in Schenectady; del Lago in Tyre between Rochester and Syracuse; and Tioga Downs in the Southern Tier community of Nichols.
Being farther from New York City and beyond the 100-mile radius that is broadly viewed as a gaming catchment area, those three facilities are somewhat less dependent on the downstate market, and therefore less imperiled by competition from New Jersey.
News of the still-to-be-finalized lending arrangement was noted during a state Gaming Commission meeting on Monday, when Executive Director Robert Williams was giving commission members an update on progress of the various projects. 
All four, including Montreign, are in various stages of completion.
Empire Resorts spokesman Charles Degliomini stressed Montreign's backers could finance the entire project if necessary. "We have fully committed financing and we actually have a backstop commitment from our largest shareholder," he said, referring to Malaysian casino developer Lim Kok Thay.
Head of the Genting corporate empire, Lim is also the main investor in the Empire Resorts video lottery terminal parlor at the Aqueduct race track in Queens. Empire, like the other developers, had to demonstrate that financing was available when Gaming Commission members voted to license them.
Still, financial analysts have taken note of the challenges that Montreign faces.
Casinos in eastern Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Atlantic City in New Jersey all are competing for the greater New York City-area market. 
That was part of the reason why New York's Gaming Commission decided against licensing two casinos in the Catskills, in addition to the fear that two projects in close proximity would cannibalize each other's business.
Indeed, Moody's in November 2015 issued a report headlined "Northeast Casinos Face Rising Tide of Competition." 
Other observers have noted that Montreign's developers may have felt compelled to plan the most ambitious casino-resort of the four projects due to the potential competition from New Jersey.
The casino is envisioned as one part of a larger $1.5 billion project known as the Adelaar resort. It will include a golf course and indoor water park.
rkarlin@timesunion.com • 518-454-5758 • @RickKarlinTU