HI-
Thanks for
the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy,
if you give me a mailing address.
Claude
Solnik
(631)
913-4244
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Island
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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.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Hank Russell
(631) 207-1057, ext. 110
John Zaher
(631) 207-1057, ext. 107
PRMG New York
January 5, 2015
Representatives of Local Civic Organizations and Concerned Residents
Announce Opposition to Planned Westbury Casino
Citing the prospect of increased crime and concerns over additional traffic in an already congested area,
representatives from the Meadowbrook Pointe-Merchants Concourse Civic Association and other
concerned residents announced today that they are organizing to oppose the proposed casino at the former
Fortunoff’s at the Source Mall in Westbury. The representatives also cited the secretive process and
demanded that, in accordance with state law, local government be consulted before any site is selected.
However, in contacting local officials, not one has said they have been consulted. With this in mind, they
have called on the County Legislature, the Town of Hempstead and the Village of Westbury to hold public
meetings on the matter.
Considering competition from Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct and Empire City Casino at Yonkers and
the new
Suffolk
Video Lottery Terminal Casino, the group questioned the economic impact the casino
would have on Nassau. Specifically, the casino would drain disposable income from local residents that
would otherwise be spent at restaurants and local retail stores, decreasing sales tax revenue to the county
and state. Further, the casino would predominantly attract three groups of local residents — people with a
gambling problem, senior citizens on a fixed income and young people, bringing with it greater concerns
for crime. Rather than going to local businesses, revenue will then go to OTB, which, thanks to political
patronage and political backscratching, is renowned to be the only bookie that has a long history of losing
money.
“The Fortunoff’s property was once Nassau’s crown jewel of retailing, attracting customers from Long
Island seeking high-quality products, including jewelry and outdoor furniture. The planned casino will
attract the exact opposite, promising to bring increased congestion and crime,” said Henry Cernitz of the
Meadowbrook Pointe-Merchants Concourse Civic Association.
“With the repeal of school traffic cameras, Nassau officials are desperately seeking ways to plug budget
holes. To paraphrase former Yankee great, Yogi Berra, ‘It is déjà vu, all over again.’ They are seeking to
plug this hole by appealing to yet another ‘sin’ tax. Westbury and other local area residents should not be
disproportionately burdened, affecting local quality of life,” said Ralph Strafaci of the Meadowbrook
Pointe-Merchants Concourse Civic Association.
The group is appealing to elected officials to oppose the casino and has begun an online petition at
stopthecasinoatfortunoff.org
. A community information forum has also been scheduled for 7:30 pm on
Thursday, January 15th at St. Brigid’s School, Maple Avenue, Westbury.
CAPTION:
Over 500 residents pack into a meeting hall at Meadowbrook Pointe on January 3 to express their opposition to a
proposed casino in Westbury.
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