Westchester-based developer Louis Cappelli has inked a deal with the operators of Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Casino to enter a partnership in the development of a long-stalled Catskills racino project. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Mohegan Sun Gaming Authority would be the operator of video slot machines, a 258-room hotel and a racetrack as part of the deal. The $600 million project, on the site of the former Concord hotel in Monticello, has been planned on and off and in various forms since 1999. Cappelli is now hoping to complete its first phase by 2013. [more]

The New York Daily News looks at the proposals, released yesterday, from two of the seven companies vying to redesign the Aqueduct race track. Aqueduct Entertainment Group has proposed a “racino,” which would have seven sections, each modeled on a different New York City neighborhood. The plan calls for 650 video slot machines in each section and a theme restaurant. All of the slot machines could be operational by November 2010. SL Green drafted a plan, in partnership with Hard Rock, that calls for a buffet and food court with 2,000 slot machines that could be running in six to eight months. MGM, Delaware North, Steve Wynn, Mohegan Sun and Penn National Gaming are also in the running to develop the race track. [more]