New York is betting on a historic gambling expansion to pull itself out of the economic dumps after the terrorist attacks

Adding casinos and video gambling and joining a multi-state lottery game.

The all-out grab bag of new gambling options was expected to be approved by the Legislature before the week was out, possibly as early as Wednesday, officials said.  릴게임

It would mark the largest-ever expansion of gambling in New York.

The package, which leading lawmakers negotiated with Gov. George Pataki, was unveiled Tuesday evening by state Senate Republican Leader Joseph Bruno, an ally of the governor.

The package also included new economic development tools to help New York City recover from the collapse of the World Trade Center.

"We have a deal that is cooking. It is in the oven and people are getting the aroma,'' Bruno said.

He said the gambling package could be worth $1 billion annually to the state within the next three to four years.

Pataki has said the state could lose up to $9 billion in revenue over the next 18 months because of the attack. The state currently has an annual budget of about $83 billion.

The expansion plan drew criticism from traditional gambling opponents, including the state's Roman Catholic bishops.

"New York has gone over a cliff on this issue,'' said Republican state Sen. Frank Padavan.

The package calls for up to three casinos in the Niagara Falls-Buffalo region to be run by the Seneca Indians and up to three American Indian-run casinos in the Catskill mountains. Video lottery terminals also would be added at race tracks and the state would be allowed to enter the multistate Powerball lottery.

New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had called for casino sites to be approved for New York City if they were allowed in the nearby Catskills. But Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said his fellow Democrats in the Assembly majority, most of whom come from New York City, were opposed to having casinos in the city.

"The social ills in such a compacted city as New York City would far outweigh any benefits that are received from casinos in New York City,'' he said.