Thompson, New York - As work crews smash apart the Concord Hotel — the biggest of the old, empty Borscht Belt resorts — developer Louis Cappelli surveys the rubble and sees a new shot at glory for the Catskills. Over the rumble of demolition, Cappelli talks about a USD 1 billion resort with gambling, golf, shopping, a spa, a water park and horse racing. He sees Vegas, the Hamptons without the traffic...

Washington - The federal government has turned down plans for two Indian casinos in the Catskills, saying the gambling sites aimed at drawing high rollers from New York City might leave their faraway tribes worse off. The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe had sought to build a USD 600 million casino in Monticello in Sullivan County, about 90 miles from New York City. The Stockbridge Munsee of Wisconsin had also sought to build a casino in Sullivan County.