28/10/2001
The residents hoping to see some of the memories conveyed back to life since 1960 when large hotels drew tens of thousands of summer vacationers.
Today, there are three old hotels in Sullivan County and Anthony Cellini and lots of other residents of the Catskill Mountains region are hoping to see some of those memories conveyed back to life.
New York Legislature has approved a bill allowing up to three Indian-run casinos in Ulster and Sullivan counties.
Cellini remembers the Catskills' glory days, when Jerry Lewis and Sammy Davis Jr. played at grand old hotels and summer nights seemed endless.
"When you came up to Broadway in Monticello at 3 in the morning, you stood in line to get into a theater or a restaurant," said Cellini, 60, the Town Supervisor in Thompson, which includes the village of Monticello.
And he adds, "Now at that hour, you can throw a bowling ball down the street."
Two casinos proposed separately by the St. Regis Mohawks and the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans in Wisconsin would create about 7,500 full-time jobs, Cellini said, providing an economic booster shot to a region that has seen a marked decrease in its tourism.
In the 1960s, hundreds of large hotels such as The Concord, Grossinger's and Kutsher's drew tens of thousands of summer vacationers, causing the population of some communities to triple.
Villa Roma, Kutsher's and The Raleigh -- are the only casinos, which are still operating, local officials say.
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