The state’s Gaming Facility Location Board is placing an expensive bet that New York City can support three full-fledged casino gambling operations just miles apart, with one in the Bronx and two in Queens.

“We asked our consultants to be very, very conservative,” said Vicki Been, the Location Board’s chair, which unveiled its long-awaited recommendation on Monday. “Even with that very, very conservative look they believed that the New York market is plenty strong to give the three casino licenses.”

But not everyone shares the board’s conviction that the region can sustain three new gambling hubs, with billions of dollars in revenue and investment on the line.

“We've now created the Van Wyck Expressway Casino Belt, with casinos running from the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge to Kennedy Airport

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