New York New York, the Big Apple, will be even more attractive with the potential of internet gambling that may one day come to pass in the Empire State. New York is looking at offering online poker but until that happens the government is looking to allow for four more licenses for brick and mortar casinos. The Gaming Facility Location Board announced recently that the license fee to operate one of the four casinos has been set anywhere from $20 million to $70 million depending on the location of the casino to be built.
The two closest locations to New York City are the most desirable. The Dutchess or Orange County locations will be asked at the top of the price range for the license. While other areas in the State are bound to be less lucrative and the licenses are priced accordingly. Similar to the Catskills area a $50 million casino license fee has been set in the Albany region, which is the same amount as either Wayne or Seneca County. Although it’s $35 million for any of the counties in the Southern Tier region, including Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties. If there’s already a casino slot in either Seneca or Wayne County, a second casino in the Southern Tier would cost just $20 million.
As many as three proposals have already been received in every region with a possibly of more to come as the June 30 deadline for applications comes up. April 30 is the date for a conference that all applicants must attend. The conference is also open to the public. Paul Francis, a location board member and a former state budget director, described the conference as the, “beginning of the bidding process” for these licenses. The process of license granting at whatever cost is a thought out one that requires time and patience.