So, that would have been a locked-in payment every year. 'The administration chose not to have a 'host agreement' with Rivers Casino, with Rush Street Gaming. Maybe the council for being a little too much, I guess, ignorant to the fact that maybe these numbers couldn't happen,' noted Vince Riggi, an independent member of the Schenectady City Council. 'We all know that didn't happen and there's no one to blame. 'Welcome everyone to Rivers Casino and Resort,' a smiling then-General Manager Mary Cheeks addressed reporters a week before opening day at the gleaming new gaming hall, which since has fallen short of projected revenue of $5.8 million dollars a year in gaming tax, which contribute to an 18 percent decrease in the city property tax. The 'Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor' took 14 months from shovel to shuffle.

Credit WAMC photo by Dave Lucas JULY 2016 - Rivers GM Mary Cheeks speaks with reporters on the casino construction site as Rush Street Gaming CEO Greg Karlin and NYSGC member John Poklemba look on.