Opinion: Seven casinos are coming to New York, eventually

By the middle of February, the board should be established and prepared to commence its work. The commission and the board will issue regulations for proceeding with the licensing and application requirements set forth in UGEDA. Those regulations should be issued before March 1, 2014. The request for applications can be expected sometime during March 2014. The response period should be between three and five months, but since many potential applicants are already working on the disclosed criteria, including location determinations and market studies, this period may be closer to 90 days.

So the best guess is that applications to the board will be due on or about June 30. A decision by the board should take anywhere from three to six months, but we should have an indication of the four locations during the fall. UGEDA requires the posting of the application fee and 10 percent of the required capital investment shortly after the award, and the facility is required to be completed within 24 months of the award.

In creating a structure that allows for the public bidding of the casino locations, the governor and the Legislature have created a transparent process that creates a fair and even playing field for any applicant who satisfies the basic criteria. The public procurement process provides each applicant the opportunity to "make their case" as to why their site, facility, and vision will provide destination tourism to upstate New York and maximum revenue to the state. To get the process right, the commission and the board need time to develop the application, draft the regulations, develop scoring criteria, conduct due diligence reviews and site visits, all of which take necessary time. In short, CASINOS ARE COMING!! But, look forward to the middle or end of 2015 at the earliest before the first roulette wheel is spun.