A potential change in the state’s stance on gambling could mean a major expansion to the Saratoga Racino.
Saratoga Casion and Raceway officials recently announced preliminary plans for an expansion to the Racino that would include an additional 15,000 square feet of gaming space, a hotel, event center and more dining options.
The cost of the project is estimated at $40 million.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently said he would support a constitutional amendment to allow table gaming in New York. The expansion to the Racino would likely hinge on such gambling changes being made; the Racino now features video terminals and harness racing, but Vegas-style table games are still prohibtted in New York.
Racino officials said the expansion could be a shot in the arm for the entire region.
“We currently employ more than 600 team members with payroll expenditures totaling more than $20 million,” said Jamie Hartman, Executive Vice President and COO of Saratoga Casino and Raceway. “The expansion would generate several hundred union construction jobs and, once completed, an estimated 400 permanent new jobs in the area.”
Hartman estimates that from groundbreaking to completion, the project would take between six and nine months. The last major expansion at Saratoga Casino and Raceway was completed in 2007, which expanded the gaming floor and added both Vapor Night Club and the Garden Buffet.
The Racino opened in 2004.
