A New York City former executive has urged Governor Kathy Hochul not to grant Mohegan Gaming a licence for casinos in the downstate after his son, who died at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut because of alleged negligence by casino staff.
Kamal Bherwani said that the joint bid of Mohegan and Soloviev Group should be rejected. Both parties propose to build a $4bn mixed-use project and casino on a site 6.7 acres south of United Nations on Manhattan’s East Side. The project will be named Freedom Plaza.
Bherwani worked as the chief information officer of health and human service under Michael Bloomberg, and for Rudy Giuliani.
Mohegan Sun Incident
Ethan Bherwani, the son of Bherwani died on 18 May after collapsing in a blackjack game at Mohegan Sun Casino. Ethan Bherwani was motionless for over four minutes on the casino floor before anyone checked on him. It took 11 minutes until medics of the Mohegan Tribe arrived.
A video released by The New York Post shows that after Bherwani had fallen from his chair at the blackjack table, another player moved from one table to another to play. Casino employees ordered passers-by to leave who attempted to assist.
Jerrard Santiago, the man accused of selling drugs to Bherwani in the video, is also seen standing behind Bherwani when the victim collapses.
Bherwani died nine days after arriving at Hartford Hospital. He was already brain-dead when he got there. He had cocaine, marijuana, fentanyl and alcohol in the system of his medical examiner, but it was most likely fentanyl that killed him.
Bherwani was celebrating graduation at Baruch College. According to the Post, the elder Bherwani said he would have survived if he had received help within minutes of his collapse.
“He made a mistake”
Kamal Bherwani, who spoke to the Post on behalf of Kamal Bherwani said: “If he had been found in just three minutes he would have still lived.” My son was attending law school. “He was celebrating his graduation and being cooped-up during the pandemic. He made a mistake…but it shouldn’t have cost him his death.”
Mohegan, one of eleven bidders in New York’s metropolitan area with three downstate licenses available at present, has projects currently under development. Bherwani believes the operator must be excluded from New York.
Bherwani told The Post that “Mohegan has proved they place money before… safety.” Bherwani donated $30,000.00 to Hochul’s 2022 campaign for governor. There is an underlying culture that exists.
You can tell the value of Mohegan Sun by watching the video.
