The New York Gaming Facility Location Board kicked off two days of hearing in-person presentations from 16 casino applicants, including Tioga Downs head and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank chairman Jeff Gural, on Monday.
Developers looking to open casinos in upstate New York responded to questions about their finances and revenue projections before the state’s board, the Associated Press reported. Allotted 45 minutes each, each argued why they deserve casino licenses over their regional competitors.
So far, New York state has authorized up to four casino licenses that will be divide up among three update regions: the Albany-Saratoga area, Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region and the Catskills and mid-Hudson River Valley. Gural’s Tioga Downs racino is considered the favorite to win in the Southern Tier, but faces a fierce battle in the Catskills, where major players such as Caesars and Empire Resorts are going toe-to-toe with New York City developers like Muss Development to nab the license. [Crain’s] — Julie Strickland