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ALBANY - Perhaps only in New York could more casinos be viewed as a lifeline for the struggling ones in upstate.

Powerful downstate casino giants have privately made the pitch to the four upstate casinos and state leaders that lifting a moratorium on New York City-area gambling licenses could be the bailout the upstate ones need to survive.

If the state were to drop its ban on new casinos before 2023, the New York City-area casino developers are each offering $500 million to the state for casino licenses, as well as offering to pay the fees that would be owed to the upstate casinos if the ban is lifted.

Not only that, the new revenue from the downstate casinos could allow the state and upstate casinos to renegotiate their tax rates because the industry as a whole would be bringing in more revenue for the state, the casino hopefuls have argued.

"One of the first conversations we had was with several of the upstate operators who under this scenario where they could potentially get some tax relief and see part of their license fees come back," said Ron Reese, a spokesman for Las Vegas Sands Corp., which is seeking a casino license in the city.

"We’ve really worked in tandem with them on this process."

Casino push is on

Sands wants a foothold in New York City, while MGM wants a casino license for its newly purchased Empire City Casino in Yonkers, and Genting wants one for Resorts World New York City in Queens.

The three casino companies have been working the halls of the state Capitol in recent weeks promising heavy investment in the state if the ban on new casinos in New York is lifted.

The deadline for an on-time state budget is March 31, and the legislative session runs until mid-June.

But Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders have been leery of lifting the moratorium, which was put in place in 2014 to give four upstate casinos an opportunity to build their businesses before any new ones were opened.

The state Legislature would need to pass a bill to open the bidding for new casinos or at least direct regulators to allow Empire City and Resorts World the right to upgrade from a racino with video-lottery terminals to full-scale casinos with table games and sports betting.

"We are simply having discussions about how to maximize the value in existing gaming assets in downstate," said Michael Levoff, senior vice president for public affairs at the Genting Group.

In Yonkers, local leaders are largely supporting MGM's push for a casino license after buying the venerable racetrack and racino for $800 million from the Rooney family in January.

"We’re just kind of educating people on the vision we have for the property," Uri Clinton, Empire City president, said last week.

Sands is making a separate push too: It wants an open bidding process for any new downstate casinos, not simply awarding license to the two existing racinos — Empire City and Resorts World New York City.

The upstate casinos were competitively bid.

"Open competition builds a pathway for local careers and vocational training programs and stable good paying jobs with quality, dependable benefits that build up working class families," former Gov. David Paterson, who is working as a consultant for Sands, wrote in a letter Monday on the company's behalf.

"However, this is all at risk if the state takes the easy way out by stifling competition and providing giveaways to select operators."

More: Empire City Casino: Local leaders press for gaming license in Yonkers

More: MGM eyes full-scale gaming license for Empire City Casino in Yonkers

How it could help upstate

The four upstate casinos have underperformed, and del Lago Casino last year sought a state bailout as its debt mounts from the $400 million casino it built in the Finger Lakes.

Meanwhile, Resorts World Catskills is a $1 billion casino that also under mounting debt and has needed cash infusions from its wealthy owner to help stay afloat.

So behind the scenes, they have signaled a willingness to work with the state and the downstate casino interests on a deal to lift the moratorium.

If the ban is ended early, the upstate casinos would be entitled to a portion of the roughly $300 million licensing fees they posted.

Jeff Gural, owner of the Tioga Downs Casino in the Southern Tier, said he would expect a benefit to his casino as part of any deal.

Gural, who also owns the Meadowlands track in northern New Jersey that has long wanted a casino, said Cuomo and the Legislature should drop the ban.

"Why would you wait five years to open the downstate casinos?" he said. "Obviously, there are issues that we have, but by and large, if I were the governor, I would certainly do it."

But Cuomo and lawmakers have been reluctant.

Last week, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, said he has reservations about letting downstate have casinos, and Robert Mujica, Cuomo’s budget director, said the state doesn’t “have the resources to open up gaming downstate.”

“If you accelerate it, you would have to pay the current casinos close to $300 million,” Mujica told reporters. “So you’re going to have to pay them first in order to do it.”

But the downstate casino interests said they would cover those fees, not leave it to the state.

"We wouldn’t expect the state to fill that void," Reese from Sands said. "The industry should step forward and have a path for the upstate operators to recoup those portions of the license fee."

Senate Racing Committee chairman Joseph Addabbo, D-Queens, said there are a lot of issues to be decided if the moratorium is lifted and how it would impact state revenue and the upstate casinos, as well as whether changes could be made by state law or by changes to the state constitution.

"It’s a great conversation to have, but there are so many moving parts," he said Monday. "So if we don’t do it in the budget, I have three months to have this discussions, with hearings and everything else, into June."

More: New York casinos await sports betting for a revenue boost

More: Cuomo rejects bailout for struggling del Lago casino in Finger Lakes