New York Aiming To Become Casino Capital Of The East Coast

While many states in the Northeast have been quicker to enter the casino industry, it is New York that is positioning themselves to become the largest. Legislators are expected to sign off on a plan this year that would bring seven new casino resorts to the state.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has been the driving force behind the gaming expansion in New York in recent years. Cuomo has devised a multi-level plan to make New York one of the top gaming revenue states in the US.

The seven new casino resorts are the second phase of Cumo’s plan. Originally, it was thought that a majority of the new casinos would be in New York City, but Cuomo unveiled a much different plan when he spoke of the casino expansion this week.

The original thought that New York City casinos would bring in large amounts of customers has been replaced with Cuomo’s idea that having gaming groups bid on upstate casinos first, without New York City being an option. Cuomo believes the bids would be higher and the deals struck between the gaming companies and the state would be more lucrative to New York in this structure.

Even if lawmakers do pass a bill this year regarding the additional casinos, it would take a majority vote in the November election before the legislation could become law. Voters in the state have shown in recent years a willingness to expand gambling.

New York is playing catch-up to Maryland, New Jersey, Maine, and Delaware when it comes to casino expansion. Pennsylvania has developed their gaming industry to the point where they are tops in the Northeast, but the last straw for Cuomo before acting came late last year when Massachusetts passed casino expansion laws.

Once all the legal hurdles are cleared, Cuomo envisions the state having operational casinos in the latter part of 2014, or the early months of 2015.