It wasn’t just a roll of the dice that led Gov. Cuomo to propose the state’s first three casinos be located upstate and not in New York City.
Cuomo said yesterday that if casino operators had a chance to open in the city, they would write off the upstate market.
“If there was going to be one in the city, then that would be the option that most operators would want to bid on,” Cuomo said.
“What we’re trying to do is to take that off the table to begin with. And then the interest goes to upstate.”
Mayor Bloomberg, who has never been a fan of government-sponsored gaming, didn’t seem to have a problem with that.
“The governor is trying to do something for upstate in terms of encouraging people to go upstate and [boost] economic activity where it is sorely needed,” he said.
“I’m a citizen of New York State and have an obligation to support the governor and trying to help all parts of the state.”
Bloomberg said he wasn’t sure casinos were “appropriate” for the city in any case.
That’s a 180-degree flip from his position last summer, when the mayor demanded: “If you’re going to have it, I think you should have it in the city. And I think we should have it every place. Why should the people of Staten Island not have a casino?”
If state lawmakers approve casino gambling, it in New York State would be placed on the November ballot for voter approval.