Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers.(Photo: File photo by Mark Vergari/The Journal News)
ALBANY More than 20 developers paid a $1 million application fee ahead of a key Wednesday deadline for New York casino licenses, according to the state's casino-siting board.
The New York Gaming Facility Location Board on Thursday said it had received 22 separate fees from possible applicants, who will compete for one of four private casino licenses to be issued later this year.
The licenses attracted interest from developers with a variety of experience in the gambling industry, including casino giants Caesars Entertainment and Genting Group, who separately announced their interest just this week.
David Flaum, a Rochester-area developer, has partnered with Caesars on a potential casino 50 miles north of New York City in Woodbury, Orange County. Separately, Flaum and Capital Region OTB submitted an application fee for a plan to build a $300 million casino in Albany.
"As we continue to build strong support from a broad array of local stakeholders, we look forward to working in partnership with all elected leaders and community members to ensure robust economic growth for the region," Flaum said in a statement.
New York voters last November approved a constitutional amendment that would allow up to seven privately operated casinos in the state.
But lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo separately agreed to award the first four licenses in three areas: the Southern Tier, the Albany area and a Catskills-centric region that stretches south to Orange County.
The Catskills region appears to have generated the most interest, with at least 10 of the projects proposed there, including several in Orange County and one at the Nevele Resort in Ulster County.
The Southern Tier region appeared to attract just three potential applicants: Tioga Downs in Nichols, Tioga County; Traditions Resort & Casino in Johnson City, Broome County; and a proposed casino in Tyre, Seneca County, which is being backed by Rochester-area mall magnate Thomas Wilmot.
"We are full speed ahead and we are definitely in it to win it," Wilmot said in a statement. "By the end of June, when applications must be submitted, we believe we will have the biggest and best casino proposal in the Finger Lakes/Southern Tier region."
While Wednesday was the deadline to submit the application fee, formal applications laying out extensive plans for the potential casinos aren't due to the state until June 30.
The state board will use the fee to investigate applicants, as well as the funding behind them. But the fee will be fully refundable until five days after the board sets the minimum investment amount for a proposed casino to be eligible or a license.
After that, the fee will still be partially refundable. If one of the companies or partnerships decides to withdraw its application, they would be refunded the amount that hasn't yet been spent by the state on the investigation.
The Gaming Facility Location Board released just the names of the developers Thursday, declining further comment. According to a timeline on its website, the licenses are scheduled to be awarded in the fall.
While most developers have made their New York casino plans known in recent months, little was known about three of the applicants, including a fee submitted by a capital management group known as Och-Ziff.
A spokesman for the group did not return a call for comment Thursday.
Lee Charles, a partner at Baker Botts LLP, said the law firm wasn't authorized to comment on the plans of its client, Rolling Hills Entertainment LLC. Rolling Hills was one of the developers to submit the application fee.
Contact information for Hudson Valley Gaming, LLC -- another group that submitted a fee -- could not be found Thursday.
Others, including Genting, have made clear which region they will seek a license in, but not a specific location. Genting is seeking a location in Orange County, according to a spokesman.
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To view the full list of application fees, visit http://www.gaming.ny.gov/pdf/Application Fees Received, April 23, 2014.pdf
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