A total of 22 casino operators have applied for the New York casino race in the hope to eventually build casinos near the city. Besides the application, casino firms also submitted $1 million. Only four casinos have been authorized for Upstate New York in order to boost local economies.
The New York Times reported that Genting wants to build a casino 40 miles away from New York City which is the closest to Manhattan. Casino operators were hoping that the state would allow building a full-scale casino in New York City but this is off the table.
Caesars Entertainment is also one of the applicants. They want to build a $750 million resort around 50 miles north of Midtown Manhattan in the town of Woodbury. Caesars Entertainment currently runs four casinos in Atlantic City and a racino in Philadelphia.
Other applicants are Pinnacle Entertainment and Penn National Gaming, both big companies in US gaming. The governor said that many had thought that gaming is over the curve and no one would apply. “But it turned out quite the opposite. We had more interest,” he said.
According to the Times, applicants would attend a meeting with the location board in Albany on April 30, 2014 where they will be allowed to ask questions about the process of obtaining licenses. After 10 days from the meeting the state will inform the candidates of the minimum capital investment for their projects and figures will vary. Therefore, some applicants will drop.
New York City authorized the new casinos in 2013. The state still has tribal casinos, but the new casinos would be completely commercialized. New York is also looking at legalizing online poker, but the whole thing is currently put off and no law is expected to pass throughout 2014.