Developers must pay $1 million to apply for a commercial casino in New York.
The New York Gaming Commission set the non-refundable application fee on Monday. And the new agency said it could cost up to $70 million for the actual licensing fee. “This marks the beginning of the bidding process for long-anticipated gaming facilities to benefit Upstate New York,” Paul Francis, a member of the commission's facility location board, said in a press release. “We look forward to reviewing and evaluating the applications and will continue to conduct an open, honest and transparent process.” The commission will take applications for four licenses -- the Catskills, the Capital Region and Southern Tier/Finger Lakes regions. One area will get two licenses -- it's been widely assumed those will go to the Catskills. The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians of Wisconsin, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut and the Mohegan Tribe, also from Connecticut, all have expressed interest in bidding on a casino in the Catskills. The Stockbridge-Munsee Band is also pursuing a casino under federal law. Applications are due June 30. Get the Story: