Stock photo(Photo: Michael Blann Getty Images)
ALBANY – Let the bidding begin.
The state Gaming Commission's Facility Location Board will put out requests for applications Monday for four privately owned casinos in three regions of the state: the Albany area, Catskills and Southern Tier.
There are at least three potential bidders in each region already.
In his State of the State address Jan. 8, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the requests for applications would go out in March, then bids would come back in June. The board, he said, would look to make the selections in the fall.
"Our casino plan is already generating great interest we said we believed it would and it is," Cuomo said in the address. "Our challenge now is to make casinos a reality: make it happen, make it happen fast and make it happen correctly."
Much of the application process was laid out in legislation that the state Legislature and Cuomo approved last year. Voters last November approved a change in the state constitution to allow up to seven privately owned casinos in New York.
But the sides agreed to give the upstate casinos exclusivity for seven years. The other three are likely to be built in the New York City area after the seven-year period ends.
The Gaming Facility Location Board will reveal the license fee for the winners in each region on Monday. Cuomo initially proposed a minimum $50 million licensing fee for each casino, but agreed in the final deal to put the licensing fee on a sliding scale based on the location.
For example, a casino in the Southern Tier would command a smaller licensing fee than one in the Catskills, which is 90 miles from New York City.
Each application comes with a $1 million fee to be used by the board to investigate each proposal. If the board doesn't use all the money, the remainder would be returned to the applicant.
The application process will end on June 30.
To apply, a bidder "must illustrate to the board's satisfaction that local support has been demonstrated." What local support would be needed to apply is expected to be specified by the board on Monday.
Also, the board will detail the capital investment required for each casino in the various regions. Video-lottery gaming facilities — there are three in the four regions — would also get a credit for previous development.
The three racinos — Tioga Downs in the Southern Tier, Monticello Raceway in the Catskills and Sarataga Raceway in the Albany area — all want to become full-scale casinos.
But there are other bidders too. Rochester developer David Flaum is proposing casinos in Albany and the Catskills, while another Rochester developer, Thomas Wilmot, wants to put one in Seneca County.
Senate Racing and Wagering Chairman John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, Orange County, said the casinos should go to places that most need jobs and economic development. He wants two casinos in the Catskills, in Sullivan and Ulster counties.
Flaum has a proposal for one in Orange County near the Woodbury Commons outlet center off the state Thruway.
"I have always said and I continue to say that Orange County should not qualify," Bonacic said. "According to the legislation, they do qualify, but in the spirit of the legislation, they were never intended to qualify."
Flaum is looking to Orange County because it's closer to the New York City market. A spokesman said Flaum would work to build support in the community.
"We are thrilled at the opportunity to be part of a project that brings the most capital, the most jobs and the most revenue to Woodbury, Orange County, and the state of New York," said spokesman James Freedland.
In a separate deal, Flaum is working with the Seneca Nation of Indians for a casino in suburban Rochester. But that proposal is not part of the state's casino application process.
The gaming board this week hired Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP, a Cincinnati, Ohio, firm to advise it on the casino applications.
Each application will require a number of elements, such as the location, types of games, financial data, designs, construction hours and studies about the casino's economic viability.
The applications will be evaluated on three major factors: 70 percent on economic activity and business development factors; 20 percent on local impact; and 10 percent on workforce investments.
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To learn more
For more information on the bidding process, visit: http://gaming.ny.gov/gaming/casinos.php
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