In October, SL Green and Caesars Entertainment announced a joint bid for a Times Square gambling establishment. In September, Related Companies, the main developer behind Hudson Yards, and Wynn Resorts, the Nevada–based developer of casinos all around the world, were among the first to announce they’ll be bidding for a casino to go up on the undeveloped chunk of Hudson Yards south of the Javits Center. Now it’s a six-way race between some of the city’s most well-known developers. Resorts World in Queens, an e-gaming establishment near the Aqueduct racetrack.

And there’s a strong possibility that it will go to New York City, which offers millions of potential gamblers with little competition nearby. That leaves just one license up for grabs. Two existing casinos - the aforementioned Resorts World New York City in Queens, owned by Genting, a Malaysian developer, and Yonkers’ Empire City Casino, also attached to a horse racetrack - are front-runners because the commission will probably favor existing sites with a track record and the capacity to add live table games. This effectively narrows the competition to the biggest, best-financed players. (These are the kinds of casinos that feature table games with callers and dealers à la Vegas - but smoking will still be banned.) Given the enormous potential for profit, New York State is attaching a $1 million fee to each application, and a $500 million fee to each license. In April, state lawmakers lifted a ten-year ban on casinos in Long Island, Westchester, and NYC (which was meant to help upstate casinos) and gave the green light to three full-service establishments downstate. In a few years, though, gambling in New York might look very different. In short, at Resorts World, the state’s Gaming Commission prohibits the frills that would give the experience any hint of what happens in Vegas or even in Atlantic City. You can rock out to Elton John tribute bands, but there aren’t any free drinks, and there’s no smoking either.

Blackjack, baccarat, and other table games are available - but only electronically. The city’s only casino is on the outer edge of Queens, just a few minutes’ drive from JFK airport, flanked by a Home Depot and the Aqueduct racetrack, and it’s a 6,500-machine e-gaming paradise for gamblers in jeans and bright sneakers.

If you’re seeing a raucous poker table or a smoke–filled back room with tuxedo-clad dealers, you’ve never gambled in New York City.

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