Right From the Horse's Mouth - Umm, maybe not the horse . . .

Here it is November and New Yorkers are still waiting for a decision on full scale casinos in New York that was promised for late October. But, be patient. I have it on good authority that a decision, whatever it may be, is imminent. 

Rather than put you to sleep with my own rhetoric, here's an email that a friend, much closer to the situation than I, was nice enough to share:

Dear Chairman Gearan: 

On behalf of my colleagues on the Gaming Facility Location Board, we write to provide an update on 

where we are with our obligations under § 1306 of the N.Y. Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and 

Breeding Law. 

As you are aware, we received sixteen qualified applications pursuant to the Request For 

Applications to Develop and Operate a Gaming Facility in New York State issued on March 31, 2014 

for proposed casino development in the Capital Region, Eastern Southern Tier Region, and the 

Catskills-Hudson Valley Region. These applications cumulatively totaled in excess of 75,000 pages.

Since receipt, we have been busy working on reviewing the materials, individually and with the 

assistance of staff, consultants and applicable state agencies. We also convened two full days of 

presentations by the applicants and their consultants in Albany on September 8 and 9, 2014 and 

subsequently conducted three full days of public hearings: in Albany on September 22; 

Poughkeepsie on September 23 and Ithaca on September 24. 

In addition to the internal reviews and study, the Board has held two meetings, on October 20, 2014 

and again on November 10, 2014, with our consultants to discuss each applicant’s financial history. 

We have also traveled to proposed locations to better understand the potential positioning of each 

facility. 

We are scheduled to meet again this upcoming Friday, November 21. We expect to be able to make 

a decision at our next meeting.  (My highlight!)

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kevin S. Law, Chairman

So, as you read this blog post the die may already have been cast and all your questions answered:

* How many licenses will be granted?

* Where exactly will the casinos be?

* Will any of the three regions get 2 casinos?

* If so, which region will get two?

* Which corporate entities will get the contracts?

I'm guessing that the answers to these questions will be part of the arguments and discussions you will have with friends and relatives over Thanksgiving dinner next week. If not, then those debates may have to wait for Christmas.