State opens window for downstate casino license applications
The Nassau Hub, which includes the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, is among possible casino sites. Credit: Kevin P. Coughlin
ALBANY — New York State on Tuesday opened the window for bidding on three downstate casino licenses, a competition that’s expected to attract major gambling companies looking to build on Long Island, the five city boroughs or Westchester County.
It’s also expected to generate money for the state: billions of dollars in license fees and facility investments. The process is widely expected to run at least into the final quarter of this year.
In a meeting lasting less than 30 minutes, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board approved opening up the window for receiving “requests for applications” — essentially proposals — for three casino licenses.
The board purposely said it is not setting an end date at this time. Rather it released a score card showing how bids will be evaluated (capital investment, job projections, diversity in leadership and workforce and others) and said applicants have until Feb. 3 to submit a “first round” of questions to the board.
And there are to be at least two such rounds of questions, in which developers get to flesh out what will go into a successful bid.
Meanwhile, the board also approved a minimum license fee of $500 million per application, which had been set in state law. It also said the minimum facility investment would be $500 million, though several sources working with gambling interests suggested bids would come in at much higher levels.
Even the board acknowledged the amount was a floor, not a ceiling.
“Any applicants are free to submit a higher capital investment,” said Stuart Rabinowitz, a board member and former Hofstra University president.
In 2013, New Yorkers approved a constitutional amendment allowing seven casinos — four upstate and three downstate — with a staggered timetable to greenlight the upstate facilities first.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature last year followed up with a law to open up the downstate competition this year.
Three licenses are up for grabs but former Gov. David A. Paterson, who is working for Las Vegas Sands Corp., predicted Resorts World at Aqueduct raceway in Queens and Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway will claim two.
That’s a view widely shared, in part because the two already have video slot machines and could make a quick transition to full casinos.
That would leave other companies vying for one final license.
Among the possible sites that have been mentioned include Times Square, Hudson Yards and Penn Station areas in Manhattan, Hunts Point in the Bronx, Willets Point in Queens, Coney Island in Brooklyn and Hempstead in Nassau County.
Last month, Newsday reported Sands was considering the Nassau Hub, which includes the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, for a possible site.
Some development groups have been open about what they are eyeing.
A group that includes Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings and the Chickasaw Nation said Tuesday it intends to submit a proposal for a Coney Island casino.
“For more than a generation, Coney Island has been waiting for a year-round economy that creates not just jobs — but careers … We look forward to submitting our bid and setting a new standard in economic revitalization and resiliency for New York,” the group said in a statement.
Developer SL Green Realty previously said it’s teaming with Caesar’s Entertainment to put in a bid to bring a casino to Times Square.
Wynn Resorts and the Related Companies, a developer, have said they will pitch a casino at Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s west side.
Steve Cohen, a hedge fund manager and New York Mets owner, reportedly is eyeing a mixed-use development at either Willets Point or Citi Field that could include a casino.
Crucially, any proposal also must win approval from a local Community Advisory Committee, which largely consists of designees of local and state officials.
Local opposition could sink a bid — the casino siting board said in materials it released Tuesday it will not even evaluate a bid unless developers first secure a two-thirds majority vote from the local panel.
The timing of the local review process is expected to be fleshed out as bidders submit questions to the casino board.
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