illiterate thief who robs the State of New York of Money and bettors of their rights secured by NY Const. Art
1, Sec. 3 and OTB workers of their right to chose whether to work or not on Palm Sunday and each and every Easter Sunday when tracks across the United States are running that bettors want to bet.
1, Sec. 3 and OTB workers of their right to chose whether to work or not on Palm Sunday and each and every Easter Sunday when tracks across the United States are running that bettors want to bet.
If Andrew Cuomo were even a lazy lawyer he would ask the New York State Attorney General for an Opinion that would likely tell him that the Attorney General will not defend the constitutionality of NY PML Sec 105 and that it does not apply to Nassau OTB, a PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION
With a church on every corner in Louisville, Kentucky, the betting bourbon drinkers know that Palm Sunday is a day to bet, watch the races and/or go to Church. Your choice. In New York Andrew Cuomo tells BETTORS TO GO TO HELL while he goes to Church. Freedom in New York. Hell no while Cuomo is King!?
Kentucky Trots Toward a Vote on Casinos
Struggling Horse-Racing Industry Hopes Boost From New Gambling Will Help It Compete With Tracks in Other States
By TIMOTHY W. MARTIN and CAMERON MCWHIRTER
Kentucky political leaders could propose legislation as soon as this week to pave the way for legalizing casino gambling, making it the latest state to consider lifting a longtime ban on slot machines and roulette tables.
Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat who easily won re-election in November, said expanded gambling is a top priority for his second term. Leading Republicans—but not all—are backing a plan to put a casino referendum on the ballot as a constitutional amendment. Proponents say legalizing casino gambling would add jobs and tax revenue for the state—and provide a source of cash to buoy Kentucky's struggling horse-racing industry.
No Dice
States with no casino gambling:- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts*
- New Hampshire
- Ohio**
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Virginia
- Vermont
*Casino gambling recently approved.
**Casino gambling approved and under construction, but not operational yet.
Source: American Gaming Association
The state's horse breeders and racetrack operators have argued for years that Kentucky risks ceding its status as the nation's horse-racing epicenter and a further slide in its $4 billion industry without a revenue infusion from casino gambling. Thirteen states now have casinos built on racetracks, with a certain percentage of revenue—typically from slot machines—earmarked for the horse-racing industry. The cash helps racetracks offer bigger purses and sweeten bonuses given to victorious breeders from in-state.
Mr. Beshear and GOP leaders are working on details of a bill to be submitted in this legislative session, which began Tuesday. The major sticking point is whether casino locations would be awarded exclusively to horse tracks, be opened up to any bidder, or a mix of both. It isn't clear how that question will be resolved or how much casino revenue would go to the horse-racing industry.
If a bill passes both chambers of the commonwealth's legislature by a three-fifths vote, Kentuckians would vote whether to legalize gambling in November.
A recent poll conducted by Democratic firm Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group showed that 64% of Kentuckians would vote for casino gambling. An even higher percentage—some 87%—wants a November vote, suggesting the electorate would like to finally weigh in on an issue that has been debated in Kentucky for more than a decade. "I look forward to introducing this legislation quickly and ensuring that our citizens have a chance to vote on it in November," Mr. Beshear said in an email.
Opposition by some Republican leaders and conservative groups remains strong. If casinos come to Kentucky, "businesses will lose, government will be corrupted and the vulnerable will be destroyed," said Kent Ostrander, executive director of the Family Foundation of Kentucky, a conservative public-policy organization based in Lexington. He said his group would fight any legislation for a constitutional-amendment vote. Republican Senate President David Williams, a longtime opponent of gambling who suffered a drubbing in his bid to unseat Mr. Beshear last November, is also expected to offer stiff resistance.
Kentucky is one of 11 states without casino gambling, including tribal-run casinos. But two of those states, Ohio and Massachusetts, have approved casino gambling, according to the American Gaming Association, a casino trade group.
Attempts to expand gambling in Kentucky picked up steam with the election of Mr. Beshear, who campaigned on the issue. In 2008, months taking office, Mr. Beshear couldn't convince enough House members to bring a gambling bill to a vote. The next year, Mr. Beshear called a special session seeking legislative approval, which Mr. Williams successfully blocked. Progress on casino gambling for the past two years has reached a stalemate, partly due to fatigue over the issue and partly because of political fighting between the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democrat-controlled House.And momentum is growing now in part because of the growing threat to Kentucky's horse-racing industry from states where casino revenue aids racing.
"People will go where the most money is. We've got to have gambling to compete," said Brett Hale, a government relations executive for Churchill Downs Inc., whose Louisville track hosts the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs operates slots casinos at its Calder racetrack in south Florida and Fair Grounds Race Course near New Orleans.
Before Pennsylvania legalized casino gambling in 2006, horse racing was "flat on its back," said Doug Harbach, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which oversees the state's 10 casinos, six of which are located at racetracks.
In five years, the 12% cut from slot-machine revenue has directed $1.1 billion to the state's horse-racing industry, leading to larger purses, more visitors and a threefold increase in the number of jobs tied to the equestrian industry, Mr. Harbach said. For its most-recent fiscal year, ended June 30, $274.9 million flowed into horse racing from the casinos.
Resorts World Casino New York City, which opened at Aqueduct Racetrack in the borough of Queens in October, expects more than $300 million in revenues will go to the state. Of that total, some 14.5%, or more than $40 million, will go to the state's horse-racing industry, said Stefan Friedman, spokesman for Resorts World Casino New York, which is owned by Genting Bhd.
In Maryland, some 7% of slot machine revenue—or about $7.2 million from its most-recent fiscal year ended June 30—gets shared with the state's horse racing industry, said Mike Hopkins, director of the Maryland Racing Commission.
"People in the horse-race industry are largely individual business people who will go where they have the best economic proposition," said Joseph Weinert, senior vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group LLC, a casino-gambling consulting firm.
Horse-race wagering has declined for decades, due to shrinking fan base and the spread of casinos. Wagers nationally sank to $11.4 billion in 2010, down 30% from 2002, according to Equibase Co., which tracks horse betting. In Kentucky, horse-race wagers fell to $1.2 billion in 2010 from $1.7 billion in 2002, according to the state's Horse Racing Commission, which oversees Kentucky's eight race tracks.
State Sen. Damon Thayer, a Republican from Georgetown, Ky., and chairman of the committee overseeing constitutional amendments, said he would consider a vote by Kentuckians on casino gambling a toss-up.
"Kentucky is a very conservative state, but we're also a horse-racing state," said Mr. Thayer, who worked in the racing industry before winning office.
—Alexandra Berzon contributed to this article. Write to Timothy W. Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com and Cameron McWhirter at cameron.mcwhirter@wsj.com
No comments:
Post a Comment