New York Governor releases his 3-casino plan

Eighty percent of the money the state receives from the Las Vegas-style casinos would be funneled to K-12 schools. The 207-page bill calls for three casinos in four areas: Hudson Valley -Catskill area, the Capital District - Saratoga area, Eastern Southern Tier, and Western New York.

Central New York would not be eligible because the bill would give the Oneida Indian Nation exclusive casino rights there. The North Country, too, would be off-limits because the St. Regis Mohawk tribe has rights there.

No casinos would be built in New York City, and none could be built downstate until at least five years after the first upstate casino opens.

The state's nine racetrack casinos would be allowed to remain open. Those so-called "racinos" are tied directly to the state lottery system and do not have table games such as poker.

Cuomo's bill would require approval of the state Legislature, and voters would have to approve a state constitutional amendment before the casinos could open.

The three new casino sites would be chosen by a gaming board on specific criteria:

-- 65 percent on economic activity and business development
-- 20 percent on local impact and siting factors
-- 15 percent on workforce and overall societal factors.

The minimum gambling age would be 21. At Turning Stone and at the state's racetrack casinos, the minimum age is 18.

The state would give back 10 percent of the revenues from the casinos to the municipalities and counties where the new casinos are located. Another 10 percent would be split by the counties in the same geographic region as the casino.

The Seneca nation has a zone of exclusivity in Western New York, but they have not paid about $500 million in required state payments.