ALBANY, N.Y. >> New Yorks transformation into one of the biggest high-roller gambling states in the U.S. is nearly complete, thanks in large part to Osama bin Laden.

The 9/11 attack on America masterminded by Osamas Al-Qaeda jihadist terror network opened the gambling floodgates in New York, with Gov. George Pataki pointing to a desperate need for revenues to fill the gap created by the destruction of the World Trade Center.

At Patakis urging, lawmakers held a special session the month after the attack to approve the biggest expansion of gambling in state history, approving plans for Indian casinos, VLT racinos and participation in the multi-state Mega-Millions lottery drawing. The first new casino opened in 2002 in Niagara Falls, where a disused convention center was turned into a gambling house.

The success that followed set in motion powerful forces that by 2013 resulted in Gov. Andrew Cuomos push to amend the state Constitution to permit up to seven Las Vegas style commercial casinos around the state.

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At the time of the 2001 terrorist attack, there was only two gambling casinos in New York, the Oneida Nations Turning Stone casino near Rome which opened in 1993 and another opened by Mohawk Indians near the Canadian border in 1999. Both opened thanks to a change in federal Indian law.

Fast forward to 2017 and New York has opened three new commercial casinos in the Southern Tier, near Rochester and in Schenectady. A fourth, the $1 billion Montreign casino and resort, is scheduled to open in the Spring of 2018 in Sullivan County in the heart of the Catskills.

It really is a dream come true, Cuomo said at the ribbon-cutting of the $330 million Rivers Casino in Schenectady last Wednesday. We would be talking about this project some times and I would just say, its just too great. Its just too unbelievable that something this grand and powerful was going to happen. But it did.

At another ribbon cutting earlier in February, Cuomo praised the new Del Lago casino in Seneca County, calling it a magnificent monument of how intelligent the decision was to amend the Constitution and expand gambling.

The growth you are seeing now all across upstate New York is going to increase exponentially, Cuomo promised. So we are on our way. Lets cut this ribbon, and lets get to those slot machines.

The Montreign casino resort is expected to boost a once thriving Catskills tourist economy. The 80,000 sq. ft. casino is part of a 18-story hotel with 332 luxury rooms, which includes 12 penthouse suites, 8 garden suites and 7 two-story villas, designed to meet 5-star and 5-diamond standards, the owner Empire Resorts Inc. said in January when it announced a $485 million round of financing. The company also owns the Monticello Casino & Raceway, a successful racino.

When the constitutional amendment was up for a vote four years ago, Cuomo said it was necessary to keep gambling money in the state. Many gambling industry experts agreed, since the new rule of thumb for casinos is that much of the customer base comes from a 50 mile radius.

That has been proven to be true in New York City, which has been denied a commercial casino despite the size of the market. Instead, it has two racinos: Resorts World in Queens and Empire City in Yonkers. Together they accounted for 70 percent of statewide gambling revenue in 2015, the American Gaming Association reported in 2016.

The four new casinos are expected to produce $325 million in annual tax revenues, most of it going to the state.

The casino will compete with 11 Indian casinos now operating around the state, and nearly as many racinos where bettors play video lottery terminals (VLTs) that mimic casino slot machines and table games.

The state Gaming Commission says the state Lottery took in $9.7 billion during the 2015-16 budget year, producing more than $3.3 billion in tax revenue.

The Lottery marks its 50th anniversary in 2017. Until 1967, gambling was prohibited in New York for much of the 20th century apart from betting on horse races, bingo and charitable games.

The also-ran in New Yorks gambling explosion is horse racing. The sport took in about $1.5 billion in 2015, according to the Gaming Commission, with $884 million of that bet at racetracks and the rest at OTB outlets.

Racings future remains cloudy as bettors gravitate to other venues to spend their money. Cuomo has also kept racing at arms length while embracing other types of gambling. Since taking office in 2011, he has avoided going to Saratoga Race Course, the oldest operating sports venue in the U.S.

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New York State transformation into the gambling big leagues nearly complete with opening of newest casino - The Daily Freeman