Governor Andrew Cuomo signaled last week that his first priority would be to bring full casino gaming to upstate first—and not Queens.
Cuomo announced in his annual State of the State address on Jan. 9 that he would support the creation of three casinos upstate to boost the local economy. While racetrack casinos with electronic gaming machines are permitted in places like the Aqueduct Racetrack, New York State’s constitution forbids full gaming with live card dealers, something that Cuomo wants to change.
It was believed Cuomo was going to make Resorts World Casino one of those casinos, but for now he said they will be upstate, though he did not specify where exactly. Councilman Eric Ulrich declined to comment on Cuomo’s plan but State Sen. Joe Addabbo, an advocate for legalizing casinos in New York, said he was disappointed by the governor’s plan.
“I do have a major concern over the governor’s remarks made regarding the future of casinos which may impact the future of Resorts World and the opportunity for additional jobs and revenue there,” Addabbo said in a statement following the speech.
According to Cuomo, 90 percent of the casino revenue would go to education and 10 percent would go to local tax relief. He did not rule out Resorts World becoming a full-fledged casino in his speech. Unlike last year, he simply neglected to mention it. Stefan Friedman, a spokesman for Resorts World, remained optimistic about the racetrack casino’s future.
“We remain interested in enhancing our extremely successful partnership with New York State and look forward to reviewing the Governor’s proposal to facilitate economic development in Upstate New York,” he said. “As an organization that sent nearly $300 million to the state education fund last year alone, we are enthusiastically supportive of any arrangement that benefits New York State’s schoolchildren.”
In its first year of operation, Resorts World was extremely lucrative, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for the state’s coffers and their own. While studies remained mixed on how much racetrack casinos or full-fledged casinos actually drive economic growth, local leaders have touted Resorts World’s financial success.
To fully legalize gambling, the state’s constitution must be amended, which means New Yorkers will have to vote on a referendum. Addabbo, along with Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, support such a referendum.
“Disappointed with @NYGovCuomo comments on gaming…Queens needs economic boost and jobs especially post Sandy,” Goldfeder wrote on Twitter after the State of the State address.
But a Cuomo spokesman told Crain’s New York Business that casino gaming at Resorts World could be a reality in a still vague second phase of Cuomo’s plan. While Ulrich declined to comment for this story, he criticized Goldfeder on Twitter for taking campaign contributions from Resorts World, implying that his reasoning was skewed.
Goldfeder, in turn, knocked Ulrich for taking a large amount of campaign contributions from State Senate Republicans in his failed bid last year tounseat Addabbo.
By Ross Barkan
