Caesars Entertainment, the gaming giant that just dropped a bid to build a casino in Boston, is making a run at New York, a state legislator said Wednesday.
The nation’s biggest casino operator recently expressed an interest to top state officials in building a Sullivan County casino, according to GOP State Senator John Bonacic, who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Racing, Wagering and Gaming.
“Their [Caesars] interest was in the mid-Hudson Sullivan County area,” he told The Post.
New York voters on Tuesday approved Gov. Cuomo’s plan to add up to seven casinos across the state, with the first four to be built upstate. Just days before the vote, Caesars contributed $100,000 to the pro-casino referendum group NY Jobs Now.
Boyd Gaming, Empire City through its Concord Hotel project, Foxwoods, MGM, Mohegan Sun and Sands have also expressed interest in building a New York casino, according to Bonacic.
Heavily indebted Caesars withdrew from the Boston casino project after Massachusetts investigators raised red flags about the company, including a business relationship with a person alleged to have ties to the Russian mob.
Bonacic told The Post he would like casino operators to invest at least $600 million in building a Sullivan County casino, employing around 1,000 workers.
Construction on an upstate casino is expected to begin in 2014.