MONTICELLO,N.Y.-Since weeds started sprouting around the boarded up Borscht Belt hotels, some locals have looked to casinos to fill the void. A state plan approved in 2001 allowed up to three Indian casinos in the hopes of attracting a new breed of tourists playing craps instead of canasta.

Now suddenly – after maneuvering by the Pataki administration – locals are looking at up to five casinos in this timeworn corner of the Catskills.

Proponents call the additional casinos a chance to establish the Catskills as a gambling powerhouse – like drawing a flush instead of three-of-a-kind. But residents seem caught off-guard. Even some casino supporters wonder whether five is too much – particularly considering the area’s long record of futility in landing even one.

“I think we need something,” said a lifelong area resident, Karen Gwiozdowski. “I don’t know if we need five. When I see one, I’ll believe it. They’ve been talking about it for 30 years!”

For decades, local officials have tried to land a casino to renew the flow of visitors that trickled off with the waning popularity of the grand hotels. Casino kickoffs seemed close a few times, but the football always got pulled away at the last minute.

Optimism spiked in 2001 after the state sanctioned up to three casinos in the Catskills as part of a larger gambling expansion plan designed to raise money in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Under deals that would settle longstanding land claims, New York’s Cayugas want to build at the Monticello Raceway and the Seneca-Cayugas of Oklahoma want to build at the site of the Concord, a big, shuttered Borscht Belt hotel. Also possible is a casino at Kutsher’s hotel involving the Mohawks of northern New York. All the proposals require state and federal approval.

For the tribes and their corporate partners, the attraction is geography.

Sullivan County is 75 miles northwest of Manhattan and on the outskirts of one of the most thickly populated regions in the nation. Any Catskill casino would automatically compete with Atlantic City and Indian casinos in Connecticut. Empire Resorts Incorporated’s chief executive officer, Robert Berman, whose company is involved with two casino plans, noted there are 17 million adults within two hours of the area.

Proponents say the area would benefit from thousands of new jobs, millions of visitors, millions of dollars to local governments, and a chance to reclaim a bit of glory. The state, meanwhile, would make costly land claims disappear and receive up to a quarter of the slot revenues.

Polls have shown some local support for casinos, but it’s unclear if that support will stretch thin now that Governor Pataki has struck land claim deals that could result in two more casinos for two Wisconsin tribes: the Oneidas of Wisconsin and the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians. Mr. Pataki has said he made the deals in light of the billions of dollars sucked out of New York by out-of-state casinos. He said he wanted a balanced approach to casino development that considers economic development and natural preservation.

Still, some locals fear five casinos would overwhelm the area and cannibalize each other’s business. At least four could be clustered in the town of Thompson, which includes Monticello. Town Supervisor Anthony Cellini said the town doesn’t have enough electricity for that yet, sewers would have to be upgraded and new classrooms created for the wave of new workers.

“Start with one and see how it works,” said an area real estate agent, Holly Roche. “If it’s up and going and it’s positive, let’s do another.”

Mr. Berman said it’s not like flipping a light switch and suddenly five casinos appear. The projects are in different stages of development. Once they’re up and running, gamblers could shuttle from casino to casino, each with a different flavor, he said.

“It creates a destination. It becomes a special place,” Mr. Berman said. “It becomes like a mini-Lake Tahoe.”

Mr. Berman, who grew up in the area, has been trying to land a Catskills casino for a decade, coming excruciatingly close with the Mohawks before they suddenly switched development partners. But Mr. Berman and others involved say they are more convinced than ever that casinos are really coming this time – if for no other reason than that New York state has so much riding on them.

The new deals must be approved by the state Legislature. A local state senator called for a referendum on additional casinos, and state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno promised to “move through this process very slowly.”

The deals also face congressional scrutiny.

Proponents say they’re confident that once politicians and residents understand the positives, it won’t be long before the land once known for latkes and conga lines makes its transition to tumbling dice and doubling down. There is talk of shovels in the ground in 2005.

“Ten years from now there could be 10 casinos,” said Kutsher’s Mark Kutsher. “What do I know?”