It might be too late for New York to benefit from building Las Vegas-style casinos, such as the proposed casino development in Sullivan County, a prominent economist says.
Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz founder and Director Gerald Benjamin said studies show the gaming industry is a mature market with no growth and New York might have waited too long to approve its first casino.
Rather than growing, the casino gaming industry simply relocates customers from one casino to another rather than generating new gamblers, Benjamin explained.
With casinos already up and running in nearby New Jersey, Connecticut, and developments underway in Massachusetts, Benjamin said it might be too late for New York to grab a significant portion of the regional gaming market.
Officials in Sullivan County hope the planned casino will boost the local economy and spur more development among related and non-related industries.
