New York
Up to three Vegas-style casinos can apply for licenses in New York State, each license will cost at least $500 million
Albany, N.Y. — Put your money down.
The bidding process for three Las Vegas-style casinos in the south of the state is moving forward now that state officials voted late Tuesday to officially ask for bids of at least $500 million each.
A number of big players are interested in opening full-scale gambling parlors in or near New York City. As a result, the state Gaming Facility Location Board passed rules and asked for applications.
The applications, which come with a $1 million fee, will be looked at by the board, which will consider a number of things, such as how they will affect the economy, how many jobs they will create, how much money they are expected to bring in, and how willing they are to work with minority and women-owned contractors.
Each application must also be approved by a community advisory committee made up of people who have a stake in the area.
The head of the chamber’s gaming committee, Sen. Joe Addabbo (D-Queens), praised the board for moving forward.
“The faster the three licenses are approved, the sooner we can start to see the major benefits for the state,” he said in a statement. “These benefits include thousands of construction and post-construction jobs, billions of dollars in revenue from the licenses, more money and programs for people who have problems with gambling, and billions more for education when the winning casinos open.”
As part of the state budget last year, Gov. Hochul and lawmakers agreed to speed up the approval process for downstate casinos, which will be able to offer table games like poker and blackjack in addition to slots and video terminals.
Two existing “racinos,” the Resorts World Casino in Queens and the Empire City Casino in Westchester County, are getting ready to apply for full licenses. They are considered the frontrunners in the competition.
At the moment, both places can only offer video terminals and betting on horse races.
Several other places, like Hudson Yards and Times Square in Manhattan, Willets Point in Queens, and Coney Island in Brooklyn, have also been suggested as places to build casinos by many different groups.
Even though some people are worried that casinos could be bad, Mayor Adams backed the idea of opening a legal betting parlor in the five boroughs last year, saying that it would “help boost our economy and tourism.”
One group that wants to win over the government is a partnership between Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings, The Chickasaw Nation, and Legends, which is owned by the Yankees. They plan to submit a plan for Coney Island that includes a casino, hotel, and entertainment.
“Coney Island has been waiting for a year-round economy that creates not just jobs but careers for more than a decade,” the group said in a statement released earlier this week. “Our partnership is one of a kind because it brings together unmatched gaming expertise, an unmatched track record in entertainment, and a commitment to serving the local community like no other.
Steve Cohen, the owner of the Mets, is betting a lot on bringing gambling to Queens, where construction is picking up near Citi Field and a new soccer stadium is already being built.
SL Green and Caesars Entertainment said last month that they are working with Jay-Roc Z’s Nation to get a license for “Caesars Palace Times Square,” a proposed casino that would be in a 54-story office tower at 1515 Broadway.
In addition to the casino, the plan is to turn a big part of the business tower into a hotel with entertainment space, a wellness center, and restaurants.
Last year, Wynn Resorts and Related Companies, which is based in New York, said they would work together to try to get a gaming license for the Hudson Yards area on the West Side of Manhattan near the Javits Convention Center.
The Gaming Facility Location Board’s rules say that applicants could propose to pay a higher license fee because of the competition. This could make it more expensive to get a license.
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