tracks are running all across the US that bettors want to bet, even if Andrew Cuomo, is in church. See NY Const. Art. 1, Sec. 3.
You simply can't close Nassau OTB on Roman Catholic Easter Sunday in preference to Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday. Ditto for Palm Sunday.
Change some of the parts of the NY PML
Reduce the State takeout
Have people WORK in proportion to the salary that they are paid
Push to OK bi-county video gaming emporium
Photo credit: Nancy Borowick | File photo of video lottery
terminals at the Resort World Casino in Jamaica, Queens. (July 27, 2012)
Long Island's two county executives
are doubling down on a plan to build a potentially lucrative video
gaming emporium on Long Island. 
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano
Friday, Nassau Executive Edward Mangano and Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone made their pitch to Long Island's state legislative delegation for a joint Nassau-Suffolk gaming facility that would house 2,000 high-tech video slot machines, known as video lottery terminals.
County officials have yet to announce a location for the bi-county gaming facility. But a source who attended the private meeting at the Race Palace, an off-track betting site in Plainview, said officials were leaning toward a Suffolk location in the area of Route 110.
The facility is expected to generate $175 million in revenue annually for the state, counties and local schools while Nassau and Suffolk would each get as much as $25 million in annual revenue, the source said.
The New York State Lottery Commission would supply the machines and receive a percentage of the purse.
Suffolk Deputy County Executive Jon Schneider said it's "up for grabs" whether there would be one facility with 2,000 terminals for both counties to split revenue, or individual Nassau and Suffolk sites with 1,000 terminals each.
"There are going to be a lot of intense discussions over the next several weeks, as the [legislative] session winds down," Schneider said.
Nassau spokesman Brian Nevin said Mangano was not available for comment. Nassau and Suffolk OTB officials did not respond to calls for comment.
Mangano and Bellone's plan differs from a proposal introduced last week by Senate Republicans that would green-light one new VLT parlor in Nassau and Suffolk apiece. Officials worry that pushing twin gaming sites through a divided state legislature may be too difficult a lift, the source said.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Bonacic (R-Mount Hope), chairman of the racing and wagering committee, called for five casinos, including three in his Catskills district. The plan would also permit casinos in Westchester and Queens beginning in 2018.
Nassau and Suffolk OTBs have sought VLTs for several years, betting that they will prop up their struggling finances and help them compete with "racinos" in Queens and Westchester.
But the proposal faces resistance from state lawmakers who argue that allowing VLTs on Long Island would trigger a flood of requests from OTBs across the state, undermining Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's plan for three upstate casinos.
Cuomo's office did not respond to a request for comment.
With Paul LaRocco
No comments:
Post a Comment