NYNY Empire Resorts Inc

Empire Resorts, Inc. ("Empire") (NASDAQ: NYNY) today announced that on February 6, 2006, representatives of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Company met with officials from the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Washington, D.C. to discuss the status of the Tribe's request that a previously completed Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposed St. Regis Mohawk gaming facility at the Monticello Raceway satisfies the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). At the meeting, the BIA stated that certain parts of the EA require additional analysis and that the BIA will provide the Tribe with specific comments within approximately three weeks. There is no assurance that the BIA will not require a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or that the extent of the BIA's comments on the existing EA will not cause the Tribe to decide to perform a full EIS. Responding to this development, David P. Hanlon, Empire's President and CEO, stated, "While we would have expected the BIA to move forward on the basis of the existing EA, we are encouraged that the BIA will continue to work with the Tribe to address any outstanding issues in an expeditious manner." About Empire Resorts Empire operates the Monticello Raceway and is involved in the development of other legal gaming venues. Empire opened Mighty M Gaming at the Raceway site on June 30, 2004. This facility features over 1,500 video gaming machines and amenities such as a 350-seat buffet and live entertainment. Empire is also working to develop a $500 million "Class III" Native American casino for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe on a site adjacent to the Raceway and other gaming and non-gaming resort projects in the Catskills region and other areas. Statements in this press release regarding the company's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, including the need for regulatory approvals, financing and successful completion of construction. The company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1994, and as such, speak only as of the date made. To the extent the content of this press release includes forward-looking statements, they involve various risks and uncertainties including (i) the risk that the various approvals necessary as described herein and other approvals required to be obtained from the United States Congress, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Indian Gaming Regulatory Commission, the Governor of the State of New York and various other federal, State and local governmental entities are not received, (ii) the risk that financing necessary for the proposed programs or projects may not be able to be obtained because of credit factors, market conditions or other contingencies, (iii) the risk that sovereign Native American governments may exercise certain broad rights with regard to termination of its agreements with the company (iv) the risk of non-compliance by various counterparties of the related agreements, and (v) general risks affecting the company as described from time to time in it's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For a full discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.