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Some of the gambling firms vying to build casinos in New York state have sweetened their proposals with promises to pay for highway improvements, community swimming pools and police-training facilities, according to license applications released on Thursday by regulators in Albany.

The applications submitted to the New York Gaming Commission are each thousands of pages long, plump with marketing verbiage for the ventures but also full of detail about how the ventures are financed, how they would reduce unemployment and how expected traffic problems can be tamed.

The release of the applications by the commission is the most complete public view of 17 proposals to build the four casinos in the state, made possible by the passage last year of a voter referendum and legislation.

Possible locations for the sprawling gambling resorts are restricted to three regions: near Albany; in the southern tier near the Pennsylvania border; and in the Catskills and Hudson Valley. No region can have more than two casinos.

The fiercest jockeying has been for the spots in the Catskills and Hudson Valley—especially in the Hudson Valley's Orange County. Nine applications were submitted for the region.

Empire Resorts, which owns the Monticello Casino and Raceway, and real-estate investment trust EPR Properties EPR -0.26% EPR Properties U.S.: NYSE ^$53.76 -0.14 -0.26% Aug. 1, 2014 11:58 am Volume (Delayed 15m) : 65,990 P/E Ratio 16.76 Market Cap $2.88 Billion Dividend Yield 6.36% Rev. per Employee $9,417,630 06/30/14 Total of 17 Bids Submitted for... More quote details and news » EPR in Your Value Your Change Short position are planning to build a casino and resort in the Catskills town of Thompson.

Their preferred plan is to open a $1.1 billion project on a 1,695-acre site. But they said in their application that wouldn't be possible if a project also opened in Orange County, which is closer to gamblers who live in New York City.

"The location of a gaming facility in Southern Orange County will have a dramatic adverse impact on [the team's] investment, gross revenues and overall economic benefits to Sullivan County," they said. "The vastly superior location of Southern Orange County will have a devastating effect on the drive-in market segment."

Empire and EPR said in their application that if a casino opened in Northern Orange County, they would invest about $870 million, which includes the payment of the license fee. If a casino opened in southern Orange County, the team said it would be able to invest about $722 million. Empire and EPR redacted a detailed breakdown for each scenario.

The applicants were able to redact proprietary business information in the documents that aren't subject to New York's freedom of information law.

One big competitor to the south in Orange County is Caesars Entertainment, CZR -1.88% Caesars Entertainment Corp. U.S.: Nasdaq ^$15.70 -0.30 -1.88% Aug. 1, 2014 12:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 625,734 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap $2.31 Billion Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee $125,263 07/11/14 Metro Money: Minor League Play... 07/10/14 Revel Casino, Still Shiny and ... 06/30/14 Total of 17 Bids Submitted for... More quote details and news » CZR in Your Value Your Change Short position which plans a $880 million casino resort on a 115-acre site in Woodbury, N.Y. It said in its application that it would be bankrolled with $670 million in loans and credit with $220 million coming from a subsidiary of Caesars. A breakdown of that plan was redacted.

Caesars also said it would pay $20 million to improve traffic in the region, which is already known for clogged highways near Woodbury Common Premium Outlets.

Some bidders emphasized how they would build facilities for local towns to improve their standing in the community.

Greentrack, a bingo-parlor operator from Alabama, and casino operator Full House Resorts, have plans to build a casino and resort in New Windsor, N.Y., near the Stewart International Airport. The team said it also would build a sports and aquatic center to serve the region and said it would rebuild the facilities for the New Windsor Police Academy.

How much tax revenue each project can create will be evaluated by the state.

Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, owner and operator of Mohegan Sun, said its low estimate for its proposed resort casino in Thompson would generate about $76 million in total state-tax revenue during 2017. Sullivan County would get about $6.6 million under this scenario.

Malaysian gambling company Genting Group 3182.KU -0.10% Genting Bhd Malaysia ^RM9.86 -0.01 -0.10% Aug. 1, 2014 4:54 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1.05M P/E Ratio 19.09 Market Cap RM36.93 Billion Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee N/A 06/30/14 Total of 17 Bids Submitted for... More quote details and news » 3182.KU in Your Value Your Change Short position has made two bids for casinos in Orange County, including one for a project valued at $1.5 billion for Tuxedo, N.Y. The company said in its application that residents in the Catskills would be better employed at their site "than a smaller gaming facility in their 'disadvantaged area'" that has struggled economically for years.

Genting submitted a study in its application conducted by an outside firm that said if the Malaysian casino company's Tuxedo project were selected, the unemployment rate in Sullivan County would fall from 8.7% to 6.8% under its most conservative estimate.

The comments appeared addressed to state officials who are expected to study each application for its job-creating potential.

In a similar vein, the team behind the proposed Nevele resort and casino in Ellenville, N.Y., in Ulster County say its proposed casino and resort would create 3,926 jobs directly and indirectly in New York by the time the project is operational.

Each applicant is scheduled to make a presentations before the Gaming Facility Location Board beginning Sept. 8. Public hearings on the plans are scheduled to begin on Sept. 22. Casino licenses are expected to be awarded later in the fall.