That's my boy

Cuomo gal Sandra Lee tours Vatican despite 'pressure' from Catholic church

• Last Updated: 10:48 AM, June 25, 2013
• Posted: 12:03 AM, June 25, 2013

Sandra Lee, who has been criticized by the Catholic Church for “living in sin” with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, toured the Vatican yesterday. Lee, who fled her hotel room, where previous guest James Gandolfini had a fatal heart attack, was given the Vatican tour before ending her trip to Rome. Sources tell us that Cuomo, who is Catholic, and Lee, who is not Catholic, are “under constant daily pressure” from church officials in New York to cease “living in sin.” The source would not say which church official was putting the high-profile couple under pressure, other than to say it was a “daily struggle.” In 2011, Dr. Edward Peters, a consultant to the highest court at the Vatican, said Cuomo should not be allowed to receive communion because he and Lee are “publicly acting in violation of a fundamental moral expectation of the church.” But we’re told that Lee, who was brought up first as a Seventh Day Adventist and later became a Jehovah’s Witness, isn’t about to convert. “Her visit to the Vatican is about understanding Catholicism better,” the source added.



 Sandra Lee studies NY Const. Art. 1, Sec. 3 in Rome  and plans travel to churches in Greece.

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Letter: Why close racetrack on Palm Sunday?

Published: April 1, 2013 5:44 PM

Photo credit: AP | In this photo provided by New York Racing Association, Stay Thirsty, left, with Ramon Dominguez aboard, captures The G1 Cigar Mile horse race at Aqueduct in New York. (Nov. 24, 2012)

To see what's wrong up in Albany, one only needs to look at the fact that the Aqueduct Racetrack was closed on Palm Sunday. On an average Sunday, The Big A has a total handle of between $6 million and $7 million, of which New York State takes a percentage.
Racing also injects money into the industry, paying jockeys, trainers, grooms, etc. Hundreds of employees -- pari-mutuel clerks and racing officials -- help put on the show, which the state gets a piece of in income taxes.
All of this, worth thousands upon thousands of dollars, was lost because on an antiquated law. Not being allowed to race on Christmas or Easter is OK, but Palm Sunday? The New York Racing Authority races on Thanksgiving, and that's a holiday that the vast majority of us celebrate.
Changing this law would be a slam-dunk revenue creator.
Gerard Bringmann, Patchogue
Editor's note: The writer is both a racing fan and a practicing Catholic.

OPEN ON 1ST PALM SUNDAY, OTB RAKES IN $2M - NY Daily News

www.nydailynews.com/.../open-1st-palm-sunday-otb-rakes-2m-articl...

OPEN ON 1ST PALM SUNDAY, OTB RAKES IN $2M. By Jerry Bossert / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. Monday, April 14, 2003, 12:00 AM. Print · Print; Comment ...

OTB FACES HAND SLAP OVER PALM - NY Daily News

www.nydailynews.com/.../otb-faces-hand-slap-palm-article-1.667233

Apr 16, 2003 – By Jerry Bossert / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ... Aqueduct was also closed on Palm Sunday, but OTB thrived on action from around the country.






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Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012

Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.