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Wilmots to sell investment in del Lago to their casino partner

There’s a change in ownership coming for the del Lago Resort & Casino in Seneca County.

The Wilmot family, Rochester-based developers who operate Wilmorite, have owned half of that casino in the town of Tyre.

The casino concept was something long championed by Wilmot Chairman Tom Wilmot, and del Lago opened two years ago.

The other half of the casino is owned by Peninsula Pacific  and now the Wilmots will transfer their investment in the operation to their partners, but reportedly the Wilmots will still be involved as the contractor who built the operation and Tom Wilmot was quoted in the Finger Lakes Times as saying they "will be watching the operation and trying to help it grow and succeed."

Mitch Rowe is the Seneca County manager. He says that county gets about $2.5 million a year in revenue from del Lago, and even with this ownership change, he feels positive about its future.

“We remain very confident in the future of del Lago, we are grateful that they are in Seneca County in the town of Tyre," Rowe said. "We just learned of the change in the ownership makeup, but we have every reason to believe that it’s business as usual, that they will continue to be successful and an important part of our local economy."

A statement from Brent Stevens, who is the chairman of Peninsula Pacific, says that the company looks forward to continuing to be a good neighbor and "a part of the fabric of the Finger Lakes region." 

A statement from Tom Wilmot says that the transfer of their investment will have long-term benefits for all owners, patrons and the community. Wilmot says that del Lago has created employment opportunities, an entertainment destination and a new stream of revenue for the town and the county.

Like some other upstate casinos that have opened up in the last couple of years, del Lago has not seen  revenues grow as quickly as some had anticipated, although the operators say there has been improvement.

It was among the casinos that lowered the number of slot machines in recent months to improve the overall operation. It and other casinos in New York state also expect to be able to offer sports betting soon.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.