Don’t bet on new casinos, says Cuomo

Don’t bet on the Big Apple.

Gov. Cuomo warned Tuesday that the true odds of a new casino opening up in the five boroughs are not very good.

“I’m dubious about it,” Cuomo said of a recent push to speed up the process of approving gambling sites in the New York City area.

“I am very skeptical about some casino deal put together by casino operators promising billions of dollars and everybody is happy,” he said.

Albany has been flush with lobbyists and gambling advocates in recent weeks who have been trying to convince lawmakers they should lift a moratorium barring downstate casinos until at least 2023 as a way to make up for a revenue shortfall.

A trio of companies including MGM, Sands and Genting are rolling the dice on the lucrative, but not-yet-available licences.

MGM would like to convert the Empire City Casino in Yonkers into a full-fledged gambling mecca, while Genting is seeking the same for Resorts World New York City in Queens. Las Vegasbased Sands, which is owned by President Trump pal Sheldon Adelson, meanwhile, is calling for a competitive bidding process and is working with former Gov. David Paterson, who returned to the state Capitol on Tuesday as an adviser to the company.

Paterson, who has “advised” gambling companies in the past and was caught up in a casino bid-rigging scandal when he was governor, said Sands is hoping for an “open process.”

“The process being opened up to all different types of parties would be a chance for them to compete,” he said.

The companies are ready to wager on downstate casinos and have even offered to cover fees owed to their upstate rivals should the state grant licenses before the 2023 ban — and are already taking shots at one another.