A state panel will vote this morning on whether to issue up to three casino licenses, putting the almost-finishing touch on a process that’s spanned more than a decade.
The Gaming Facility Location Board will convene at 10 a.m. at the City University of New York graduate center to decide whether to issue any of the three available licenses.
More than a dozen companies once promised to bid for one New York’s three available downstate casino licenses. Eight spent millions of dollars preparing site plans, figuring out zoning and unions and making public presentations.
The three remaining competitors are proposing casinos within the borders of New York City but in the outer boroughs: Hard Rock Casino adjacent to CitiField; Bally’s at Ferry Point in the Bronx; and Resorts World at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The board doesn’t have to award all three licenses — the law merely says “up to three.” If it thinks none qualify, it doesn’t have to award any.
The location board’s recommendations will be advanced to the full New York State Gaming Commission for its approval or rejection later this month. The commission typically accepts the location board’s decisions.
