The New York Committee will meet on the new year's first workday to discuss the location of the state's newest casinos. A board will meet on Tuesday to deliberate on the applications solicitation which will be released shortly.
The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) declared on Friday that the Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB) will meet in New York City on Tuesday. It has already released the 3:30 p.m. ET meeting's agenda.
The gaming board will deliberate on the casinos' license fee and their least required investment for development. New York Senator, Joseph Addabbo, is the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming, and Wagering's chairperson and predicts that each license will cost $500 million or more.
The NYSGC announced on October 4, 2022, its location board's first three members. This triggered a 90-day clock for New York to create a solicitation calling for the casino proposals. State lawmakers included three casinos in Downstate New York and New York City in April when they passed a budget.
The three casinos were in the 2013 gaming referendum that New Yorkers approved. The constitutional amendment permitted the construction of seven casinos in the state. Four gaming sites would be in upstate locations and they got a seven-year head start on the three downstate casinos.
Governor Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers hastened this process by a year when they added the gaming licenses to the 2022-2023 fiscal year budget. They hoped to generate more gaming revenue for New York as it recovers from the Coronavirus pandemic. Still, the casinos are expected to promote growth in the construction and hospitality industries which experienced many job losses in the past two years.
The Interested Parties
Some developers are anticipating the release of the RFA and have disclosed their plans to get gaming licenses. Legends, The Chickasaw Nation, Saratoga Casino Holdings, and Thor Equities intend to construct a$3 billion resort in Brooklyn's Coney Island. REIT SL Green wants to construct a Caesars casino in Manhattan's Times Square.
Rumors claim that Las Vegas Sands wants to construct a gaming site on Long Island. Some people predict that MGM Resorts International's Empire City Casino and Queen's Resorts World New York City will apply for the licenses.
Empire City and Resorts World NYC can provide video lottery terminals with a different technology than that of Las-Vegas style electronic table games and slot machines. The two gaming companies have an advantage over other license applicants since they can transform first into full-fledged casinos. Thus, New York can start getting extra tax revenue from them.
The Lengthy Application Process
The RFA's issuance is a vital step in this process. Even so, it has other steps that the license applicant has to complete before the GFLB acts.
The applicant requires more than 66 percent support of their target site's Community Advisory Committee. The state's committee includes members that Hochul and local officials will appoint. Also, applicants need local zoning approval.
The GFLB will consider its impact on proposed and existing casinos' revenue if a project ends successfully. First, the gaming board will make determinations then the NYSGC will select suitable casino proposals. It will start approving casinos in late 2023.
