$500m price tag for New York licence

There is a $500m price tag for a licence to run a casino in New York City.

Three licences will be awarded by the city’s authorities, reports the New York Post, following a sitting of the state board on Tuesday.

The New York Gaming Facility Board has now formally opened the race for applications. There will be a rating system to determine the winners of the bids for licences – and the $500m will have to be paid within 30 days of the awarding of the licence.

Observers feel that the licence fee could simply turn into a bidding war if an applicant proposes to pay a higher licence fee, decided the board.

Each licence will run for between 10 and 30 years, depending on the investment made by the winning bidder and the tax revenue expected from the operation.

Among the bidders will be a consortium proposing to build a casino on Coney Island. Meanwhile, the owner of the New York Mets is proposing a venue to be built close to the team’s Citi Field stadium and Wynn Resorts is also in the running for an application.