Proposed Howe Caverns casino would create many local jobs

“There is no proposed gaming facility in the state that can be underway and built faster than ours,” said the application submitted on behalf of Michael Malik Sr., the Detroit-based developer behind Howe Caverns Resort and Casino. The firm said it is planning to buy 110 of the 330 mountaintop acres where the Howe Caverns tourist attraction operates in Cobleskill, near Exit 22 of Interstate 88.

The proposed casino, according to the application, would offer 1,200 to 1,500 slot machines and have 35 to 60 table games (typically these would include blackjack tables, roulette wheels and similar games of chance.)

The casino complex would also include a 254-room hotel, three full-service restaurants and convention/banquet facilities, along with a pool and spa. The companion attraction would be a 55,000-square foot water-park, which would also feature a 250-room hotel, an arcade game park and three additional restaurants.

The project would yield an estimated 3,000 construction jobs, and once the resort was completed it would be staffed by some 1,700 workers, according to the documents released by the state Gaming Commission in Schenectady.

The Howe Caverns site is competing with proposed gaming parlors that would be located in East Greenbush, Rensselaer, Schenectady and the Montgomery County town of Florida. State officials have said they would issue one license in the greater Capital Region.

Three more licenses would be issued elsewhere in the state, with two of those expected to go to a region that includes most of the Catskills and the Hudson Valley. The Southern Tier would get one casino.

In touting its “transformative” potential to perk up the region’s economy, the Howe Caverns application emphasizes the project’s proximity to Cooperstown, which has a vibrant tourism economy.