Yawn.
Long Island casino in play in NY negotiations
ALBANY, N.Y. - (AP) -- Support grew Thursday for a proposal to build a casino on Long Island with video slot machines as legislators and the governor negotiated behind closed doors to expand casino gambling in New York.A legislative bill with majority party sponsors proposes a casino with 2,000 video slot machines run by the off-track betting agencies in Nassau and Suffolk counties. That could cement critical Republican support from the region's senators for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's statewide casino proposal.
"We are working closely with our state delegation to allow a regional video lottery terminal facility," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone on Thursday. "By operating this facility through a partnership between Nassau and Suffolk OTB, we will ensure that the maximum amount of revenue benefits Long Island residents."
Cuomo and legislative leaders are negotiating a plan to authorize three Las Vegas-style casinos. The idea of a Long Island slots-only casino runs counter to Cuomo's public proposal of placing only three casinos upstate.
"It's huge," Nassau County OTB President and CEO Joseph Cairo told The Associated Press. "The Senate has indicated to me it is part of the discussions of the overall (casino) package."
Cairo, who is also a county Republican committee first vice chairman, said he has spoken to Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos of Nassau County about the proposal, which has quietly been discussed for months in Albany. He said they spoke of a proposal to build a video slot casino on the Nassau-Suffolk line, where it could draw from Long Island's 3 million residents. He said another version would create two facilities, each with 1,000 video slot machines.
"I think the senator is conceptually behind it and I spoke to him many times," Cairo said. "I think it will be on the table for rest of the session."
Within hours of the AP publishing a story about the Long Island casino negotiations, Cairo put out statement contradicting his initial comments on the sensitive, closed-door talks. Cairo, through a spokesman, refused to say why he changed his position or if he had been contacted by the Cuomo administration, which strongly denies the proposal is part of negotiations.
Cuomo spokesman Matt Wing said the Cuomo administration didn't contact Cairo.
Asked about the role of the proposal in closed-door casino negotiations, Skelos' spokeswoman Kelly Cummings said: "We continue to discuss all aspect of the gaming and casino issues in the five weeks that remain in session."
The bill sponsored by Assemblyman Steven Englebright, a Suffolk County Democrat, states the facility would include "superior consumer amenities and conveniences to encourage and attract the patronage of tourists and other visitors from across the region, state and nation." He didn't respond to a request for comment.
The Senate bill is sponsored by Republican Sen. Phil Boyle of Long Island.
"Nassau and Suffolk have been pushing this proposal for several years," Wing said. "It has and is not part of any casino gaming negotiations or discussions."
In Albany, the closed-door "leaders meetings" between the governor and legislative leaders are secret. Major proposals often aren't announced until a deal is struck and quickly rushed to a vote in the Legislature without public hearings.
The proposal would be contrary to Cuomo's public demands that his gambling commission chose vendors; that operators, not the Legislature, be involved in choosing sites; and that privately run casinos be restricted to upstate.
A video slot machine casino run by Nassau and Suffolk OTBs would maintain the Legislature's hold on patronage jobs in the facility.
Most of the nine existing "racino" centers, which offer video slot machines but not table games, have grown quickly. Their operators argue they are the best candidates to be turned into the privately run casinos Cuomo proposes for upstate and, five years later, the New York City area.
One of Albany's most powerful lobbyists, former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, lobbies for Nassau and Suffolk counties OTBs and on state casino issues, according to his state lobbying registration. He didn't respond to a request for comment on the proposal.
No comments:
Post a Comment