Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to lift the 2023 moratorium on downstate casinos has been largely diminished by Manhattan’s politicians. Wynn Resorts, Bally’s Corporation, and Las Vegas Sands have been eyeing the opportunity to launch a big Las Vegas-style casino in New York as soon as 2021 but to no avail.
Currently, the is a moratorium on issuing a casino license to downstate gaming properties until 2023, and the governor of NY has been exploring the idea of lifting the suspension in order to bring additional revenue to the state. However, the Manhattan legislature has firmly positioned itself against the decision and the plans have been squashed.
Against the Acceleration
Manhattan Assemblyman Richard Gottfried has weighed in on the topic and has taken a stance against the lift of the moratorium, The Upper West Side representative has said that he adamantly disapproves of such projects. In his words, a potential casino in Manhattan could seriously affect the region’s residential and commercial quality.
NYS legislators have been working for some time on the subject of getting past Manhattan’s objections. They have even introduced a bill that stated the Manhattan government has the option to decide for itself whether a casino should be licensed for the borough. However, Gov. Cuomo did not support the notion of giving the area such rights, and the bill was unable to pass.
Sen. Joe Addabbo, chair of the Racing and Wagering Committee has also weighed in on the topic of casino licenses. He claimed that currently there almost no official discussions for the lifting of the moratorium. Casino executives are also rather pessimistic on the matter of accelerating the licensing to this year, and they expect the topic to be brought up again soon.
The state legislature has tried to push for the bill again in May after the new 2021-2022 budget plan was officially passed and announced. However, the efforts were quickly dismantled, and the proposal is at a complete halt. This has left the casino operators disappointed but they remain hopeful that the subject will be reviewed again before the moratorium is lifted in 2023.
Full-License Support
At the end of March this year, a NY labor alliance has voiced its support for Empire City Casino to receive a license for a fully-fledged casino property. “A Sure Bet for New York’s Future” believes that a transformation of the venue to a complete gambling property will have an almost immediate effect on the local economy, as it would provide many new temporal and permanent job positions.
Queens’s communities have also joined efforts in the support of Resorts World New York City to be issued a full-casino license. The coalition believes that the expansion of the gaming property will have a positive impact on the region’s wellbeing is it would provide thousands of union jobs and the venue will then be able to generate more revenue which can be later used for the local infrastructure.
Source: Kosman, Josh and Campanile, Carl “Manhattan politicos squash NYC casino project” New York Post, June 2, 2021
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