New York Should Bet on Gambling, Casino Bidders Say

By
Ilya Marritz
WNYC News | Sep 9, 2014

In public presentations in Albany, casino bidders have been making the hard sell, in hopes of being awarded a gambling license. But these applicants are having to adjust their pitches to an economic landscape in which large-scale casino gambling looks increasingly shaky.

When New Yorkers approved the expansion of casino gambling in 2013, there were 12 casinos in Atlantic City. Since then, five of them have folded. And ratings agencies are warning the Northeast may already be saturated with gambling halls.

So applicants took pains on Tuesday to show they can succeed. In a video presentation, one bidder, the Genting Group, said it will tap in to a vast population of overseas gamblers.

“The same international market that allowed the Las Vegas strip to recover after the recession. Primarily due to increased Asian baccarat players,” intoned the video’s narrator.

Could it work in New York? It's up to a five-man panel to decide. They'll award up to four gambling licenses this fall.

 

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Ilya Marritz

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