The saga of who gets to open a casino in New York and where
it will go continues on an almost daily basis with major gaming players like
Caesars and Genting Americas doing their due diligence and trying to get local
communities to buy in.
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| The Concord |
Of course, community buy in is a mixed bag with proponents
and detractors aplenty. The most interesting development to date is the
possibility that one or more casino operations will be located in Orange
County. For those unfamiliar with New York geography, Orange County is a good
deal closer to New York City than Sullivan County, the home of the Catskills
resorts where casinos have been proposed at the site of the Concord and Nevele,
formerly famous and popular summer resorts for city folks looking for a respite
from the heat. The differences in driving distances are significant – from NYC
to Tuxedo, NY in Orange County is 44 miles, less than an hour’s drive; from NYC
to Kiamesha Lake, site of the Concord Hotel, is 95 miles, more like an hour 45
minutes ride.
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| The Nevele |
The fear that potential investors for sites in Sullivan
County have is that most gamblers coming from the south will opt for the
shorter drive and dig into their business in a serious way. That is a
legitimate fear. Gamblers are a fickle bunch. Regardless of the perks that
casinos offer in an attempt to lure patrons to their buildings like points and
comps, gamblers will choose convenience over value. In the long run, what one
casino offers is very similar, if not exactly the same, as the next casino. A
45 minute drive will trump an hour 45 minute drive every time.
All license applicants, and the State of New York for that
matter, are touting the establishment of 4 new casinos in New York as a way to
deal with high unemployment rates and a bleak economic picture for the areas in
questions. That’s not happening and the Atlantic City experience should be the
proof in that pudding. The new jobs that will be available in the casino
industry for locals will mostly all be low-paying service jobs. Casino
executives will be out-of-town residents and, in the case of Orange County,
will most likely choose to reside in the far more stable counties south of
Orange (Westchester in particular) and possible even NYC proper. A cursory look at the income levels
of most casino employees throughout the country reveals that few well-paying
jobs will materialize.
There is some concern in all the potential communities where
casinos are likely to be located about traffic and crime. The traffic concerns
are real, and without major infrastructure improvements of roads and highway
exits, may develop into nightmarish proportions. The drugs and crime arguments
are more fear mongering than anything else yet these fears may result in more
decent paying police jobs for the areas.
Local reporting is probably the most reliable on these
topics so here are a few references and links from the Times-Herald-Record’s
online version,
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