![Catskills Casino Bids Face Competition](http://townsquare.media/site/554/files/2014/05/Roulette-iStock1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Catskills Casino Bids Face Competition
WOODBURY, N.Y. (AP) — Ailing areas of the Catskills finally close to landing a casino after decades of trying could be looking at sharing the jackpot with casinos closer to New York City.
Five of the 22 development groups that paid a $1 million application fee said they were looking at Orange County, within the edge of the city's commuter belt. Big-name operators such as Caesars Entertainment believe a casino on the outskirts of the nation's largest metropolitan region could win big.
But it also would siphon business from any companion casino built in the Catskills. The less prosperous area has explicitly been mentioned by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and others as an intended beneficiary of New York's gambling expansion.
Final bids in the process are due June 30.
More From WDOS-WDLA-WCHN CNY News
![NY Assembly Passes Medical Marijuana Bill](http://townsquare.media/site/554/files/2014/06/Christopher-Furlong-Getty-Images.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![NY Senate Passes Bill to Prohibit Pet Tattooing and Piercing](http://townsquare.media/site/554/files/2014/06/Leslie-Banks-Thinkstock.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Storm Damage is Evaluated in Central New York](http://townsquare.media/site/499/files/2013/07/storm-bob-joseph.png?w=980&q=75)
![School Closing, Power Failures, Road Closures Follow Central NY Storm](http://townsquare.media/site/454/files/2014/06/THUNDERSTORM-iStock.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![An Incurable Mosquito-Borne Virus Has Hit the U.S.](http://townsquare.media/site/757/files/2014/06/mosquito-against-sun.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The New York Department of Transportation Plans Waverly Bridge Replacement](http://townsquare.media/site/499/files/2013/09/2013.09.20-DOT-TRUCKS.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Report Criticizes State Agencies for Slow Contract Approval](http://townsquare.media/site/554/files/2014/06/Klimenko-Aleksandr-Thinkstock.jpg?w=980&q=75)