17 Applications for New York Casino Licence

With four casino licences being competed for in three different areas of New York State, a mix of real estate developers and gambling companies placed their bids to win a valuable permit to operate a casino in either Catskills, the Hudson Valley and an area around Albany. After an initial 22 proposals were put forward, 5 were abandoned, however some companies have entered more than one proposal. Many of the biggest names in the casino industry have all thrown their hats into the ring with the giants of Caesar’s and Genting both making bids, and there’s also a joint bid from Empire Resorts and development company EPR Properties, who’ve got together to make a $1 Billion bid to build a casino in the town of Thompson.

Caesar’s who have recently announced that they are closing their Showboat Casino in Atlantic City are clearly eager to move into this new market and have put together an $880 Million venture that would see a casino built in Orange County, about 50 miles north of New York City. Owners of the Mohegan Sun, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority are bidding for a casino in Sullivan County, and in Ulster there’s a $640 Million bid by Claremont Partners to build in Ellenville.

There’s just as much competition between the locations as there is with the actual bidders with officials from both Catskills and Orange County both vying to be the chosen location for at least one of the new casinos, and the decision has to be on many levels with two points being, which area needs the boost the most, and which will give the best tax revenue return for the state. We’ll have to wait until the fall the find out who wins and where the New York casinos will be built.