A multi-billion-dollar casino in Times Square? What about rows and rows of slot machines next to Citi Field, home of the New York Mets?
Real estate developers and some of the world’s largest casino operators are scrambling to search New York City and its suburbs to find the right location for a gambling resort in the nation’s most attractive, untapped market.
A flurry of behind the scenes deal making and negotiations is underway as state leaders grow increasingly close to lifting a moratorium on new gambling facilities in New York. The high-stakes battle is likely to set off an aggressive lobbying effort in Albany, lead to clashes with community leaders in the five boroughs and attract the attention of a global industry stretching from Atlantic City to Las Vegas to Macau, China.
