LH Logo: News In Brief(Photo: Chris Brown/The Journal News)
ALBANY – Developers would have to invest between $70 million to $350 million to build a casino in one of three regions in New York, a state panel announced Monday.
The minimum capital investment is to range from $350 million in Orange or Dutchess counties to $70 million in the Southern Tier if another casino is built in Wayne or Seneca counties, the state Gaming Commission said.
The capital investment requirements is the latest step as the state moves toward allowing four private casinos to be built in three regions of the state: the Southern Tier, Catskills and Albany area.
Last month, 22 bids were submitted with a $1 million application fee for a potential casino license. The bidders now have five days to withdraw their applications based on the minimum investment requirement.
"The board's observation is that there is a wide range of market comparables for both total investment and required minimum investment in gaming facilities," the commission's Facility Location Board said in a statement.
The applications for a casino license are due by June 30. The selections are expected to be made this fall.
Because of the proximity to New York City, the casinos in Orange and Dutchess counties would require the largest investment. There are at least five proposals for Orange County, including one in Tuxedo that would 41 miles away from Manhattan, but none so far in Dutchess County.
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said he was pleased with the bidding requirements.
"Parts of Orange County, such as Newburgh, have serious underemployment, and can benefit from gaming and resort development," he said in a statement.
One region would have two casinos under the law approved last year by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature.
So if Dutchess or Orange counties gets a casino, a second one in the Catskills would have to have a minimum investment of $100 million. But if Orange or Dutchess doesn't get one, the minimum investment for the rest of the region, including Ulster, would be $130 million.
The minimum investment would be $135 million for a casino in the Albany area.
The investment would be $85 million in Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties. But the investment would $135 million in Wayne and Seneca counties, which are closer to Rochester.
If a casino is awarded in Wayne or Seneca counties, the minimum investment would $70 million for a second casino in the rest of the region. There are three casino proposals in the region, and the three bidders said Monday that the minimum investment would not derail their plans.
"We anticipate that our application will far exceed that minimum requirement," said Thomas Wilmot, Sr., chairman of Wilmorite, the Rochester-based development company that wants to build a casino in Tyre, Seneca County.
Jeff Gural, owner of Tioga Downs Casino & Racing, said he's hopeful that the roughly $45 million already invested in renovations at the facility will count toward the minimum investment. He plans another $105 million in upgrades if he wins the bid, he said.
"I thought they did what they said," Gural said of the commission. "They want to get as many bidders as possible and let the free market set what everybody plans to spend."
Traditions Resorts & Casino said the minimum bid was what it expected. It wants to build a $150 million casino in Union, Broome County.
"We thought it was a fair assessment. The numbers are in line with where our project said it was going to be all along," said John Hussar, project manager. "It poses no issue to the continuance of our project."
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