When New Yorkers approved a ballot measure to open the state to Las Vegas-style gambling last year, the idea was that the benefits of seven new casinos would flow to an economically depressed Upstate.
The Post has been skeptical about betting the state’s prosperity on casinos, especially for depressed areas such as the Catskills. Our warnings may now be coming to pass as two major developers have pulled out of plans to bid for the right to put up a casino in Sullivan County.
Why? Because they worry about potential competition from an Orange County casino, which would have the advantage of being a much shorter drive for people coming from New York City.
For his part, the acting head of the state gaming commission, Robert Williams, insists casino licenses will be awarded on the basis of economic need. He also denies Orange County has any economic advantage.
But the two developers who have pulled out say “the mere prospect of a casino in Orange County” makes it impossible to get financing for a gambling resort in Sullivan County, which has been waiting 40 years for one.
On top of this is the all-too-predictable political factor. Turns out former Gov. David Paterson, who found himself in the thick of the bid-rigging scandal surrounding the Aqueduct racino, is a consultant for a potential casino operator.
He’s also the new chairman of the state Democratic Party, which is headed by Gov. Cuomo — whose appointees will select the winning casino bidders.
All of which is sadly appropriate: In casinos, after all, the odds are always stacked against the public.