Major Las Vegas players are interested in NYC casinos

More than a half-dozen major players in the gaming industry, including the owners of Schenectady’s Rivers Casino, have responded to a request for information about getting one of three licenses to open a New York City casino in the next two years.

Rush Street Gaming, which operates Rivers, was joined by companies such as Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Genting, Bally’s, and Hard Rock Café in responding to the state Gaming Commission’s Request for Information by the Dec. 10 deadline.

Responding to the request, which is not an actual bid for a license, is the first step in what could lead to a bid for a state Gaming Commission license to build one of the three casinos that could go in New York City or surrounding counties after 2023.

Most of the responses are completely redacted beyond the names and contact information. Often a company requests the state redact the information before posting it publicly.

But Rush Street was an exception, and their response amounted to a lengthy sales pitch about why they should be awarded one of the new licenses.

“We are developers of destination casinos and we are proud of how we have transformed local communities,” reads part of their presentation, which talks about the contributions they have made to Schenectady and other cities where they have developed casinos including Chicago, Philadelphia and Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Genting, which is an investor in the Resorts World casino in the Catskills and a racino in Queens, was also among the respondents. Their response was blacked out, however.

One of the respondents, the Water Club, located along the East River in Manhattan, proposes a small, exclusive casino, without slot machines. It would be the kind of place where “maybe the next James Bond can play a hand of poker in New York,” according to their response.

A total of 30 people or organizations responded to the request for information, but not all were looking to open a casino. The request  also functioned like a public comment period, in that many players in the gaming industry, and those who have concerns about it, responded to the state Gaming Commission.

Among those who may not be seeking a casino, but who have concerns about the impact of three downstate casinos, included the Shinnecock tribe, which is seeking to build their own casino in eastern Long Island, and the New York Racing Association, which competes for the gaming dollar.

Those responses were redacted, or blacked out, so it wasn’t possible to say precisely what their concerns or desires might be.

Philip Morris, CEO of Proctors Performing Arts Center in Schenectady, also responded in his capacity as treasurer of the Upstate Theater Coalition for a Fair Game.

“We urge the commission to continue to require consideration of local cultural impacts as part of the licensing process,” wrote Morris.

When Rivers opened four years ago, he started working cooperatively with the casino, rather than competing with them for concert business.

Like many casinos, Rivers has its own 5,000-square-foot nightclub-like space that, like Proctors, can host live music acts.

When New York first allowed non-Indian casinos in 2013, it was decided to allow upstate facilities to open first in order to build up a clientele.

The idea was to give them a head start in order to compete with the downstate facilities, which will be located where the bulk of New York State’s population resides.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU