This summer, we did our own little 'man on the street' sampling of tourists we encountered in the Commonwealth and surveyed their impressions of the impacts Gambling had on their home states. Invariably, we encountered some not very kind expressions about the degradation caused to communities after grandiose promises from this Predatory Industry that preceded approval and construction.
We all know the glowing promises that never materialize - gazillions of construction workers will be employed, quadra-zillion new jobs will created that pay sky-high wages, the streets will be paved with gold, tax revenues will cover flawed fiscal policy, and it will all simply happen by magic.
You might consider what Bryant Simon had to say and the disaster that is Niagara Falls - that's New York State.
Growing up in New York State, I watched as OTB Parlors were opened in minority communities and watched the destruction, the increased crime, communities that spiralled downward. And all of it ignored because, after all, it was just poor people getting poorer.
One might be tempted to say "What is the Governor blind to the destruction caused by Gambling?" Unfortunately, he is. So, in the last few weeks of the Governor's disastrous reign, at least we can blame his figurative blindness on his literal lack of sight. Not much of an excuse for the legacy he leaves.
Moody's 'gets it.' It's OVER. There are only so many dollars you can suck from the poor and the gullible.
NY state strikes deal with tribe on casino land
(Reuters) - New York state agreed on Monday to give a swathe of land to a Wisconsin Native American tribe, which has plans for a major casino and resort complex near New York City.
The Stockbridge-Munsee tribe will give up their decades-long claim to 23,000-acres of land in New York and receive 330-acres of land 90 miles northwest of New York City.
But the deal now needs approval from the federal Department of Interior and faces opposition from environmental groups.
"This compact is a significant step toward revitalizing the economy of Sullivan County by building on its legacy as a tourist destination," New York Governor David Paterson said in a statement. [Translation: Besides, I'll be out of office and really couldn't care.]
If approved, the 584,000-square-foot casino in the area known as the Catskills would compete with New Jersey's Atlantic City, two American Indian casinos in Connecticut and other, smaller gaming facilities in New York state. [Ah...compete with 2 CT Tribal Casinos that are broke? Foxwood defaulted. Atlantic City that is kaput? Do the Capital Markets have so little sense? SugarHouse just opened and revenues are declining.]
Paterson said the project will generate $1.3 billion in economic activity during the construction phase. Once built, the casino would pump an additional $900 million into the state per year, Paterson said. [Horse feathers!]
According to the National Indian Gaming Association, there are 558 federally recognized tribes in the United States of which 237 run 442 gaming operations in 28 states. Tribes have sovereignty and are subject to limited gaming regulations.
Gaming is an attractive source of revenue as many U.S. states struggle with high unemployment, diminished consumer and property sales taxes and other recession woes.
But revenue from all forms of legal gambling in the United States declined by 2.9 percent in fiscal 2009 from fiscal 2008, according to the Rockefeller Institute in Albany, New York.
"The days of, 'We'll just build something and we'll double the interest (in) gaming and twice as many people will gamble' -- I think those days are over," said Keith Foley, a senior vice president at Moody's Investors Services.
"Anything that cuts traffic and offers a good product will probably take away from somebody else," he said.
Growing up in New York State, I watched as OTB Parlors were opened in minority communities and watched the destruction, the increased crime, communities that spiralled downward. And all of it ignored because, after all, it was just poor people getting poorer.
One might be tempted to say "What is the Governor blind to the destruction caused by Gambling?" Unfortunately, he is. So, in the last few weeks of the Governor's disastrous reign, at least we can blame his figurative blindness on his literal lack of sight. Not much of an excuse for the legacy he leaves.
Moody's 'gets it.' It's OVER. There are only so many dollars you can suck from the poor and the gullible.
NY state strikes deal with tribe on casino land
(Reuters) - New York state agreed on Monday to give a swathe of land to a Wisconsin Native American tribe, which has plans for a major casino and resort complex near New York City.
The Stockbridge-Munsee tribe will give up their decades-long claim to 23,000-acres of land in New York and receive 330-acres of land 90 miles northwest of New York City.
But the deal now needs approval from the federal Department of Interior and faces opposition from environmental groups.
"This compact is a significant step toward revitalizing the economy of Sullivan County by building on its legacy as a tourist destination," New York Governor David Paterson said in a statement. [Translation: Besides, I'll be out of office and really couldn't care.]
If approved, the 584,000-square-foot casino in the area known as the Catskills would compete with New Jersey's Atlantic City, two American Indian casinos in Connecticut and other, smaller gaming facilities in New York state. [Ah...compete with 2 CT Tribal Casinos that are broke? Foxwood defaulted. Atlantic City that is kaput? Do the Capital Markets have so little sense? SugarHouse just opened and revenues are declining.]
Paterson said the project will generate $1.3 billion in economic activity during the construction phase. Once built, the casino would pump an additional $900 million into the state per year, Paterson said. [Horse feathers!]
According to the National Indian Gaming Association, there are 558 federally recognized tribes in the United States of which 237 run 442 gaming operations in 28 states. Tribes have sovereignty and are subject to limited gaming regulations.
Gaming is an attractive source of revenue as many U.S. states struggle with high unemployment, diminished consumer and property sales taxes and other recession woes.
But revenue from all forms of legal gambling in the United States declined by 2.9 percent in fiscal 2009 from fiscal 2008, according to the Rockefeller Institute in Albany, New York.
"The days of, 'We'll just build something and we'll double the interest (in) gaming and twice as many people will gamble' -- I think those days are over," said Keith Foley, a senior vice president at Moody's Investors Services.
"Anything that cuts traffic and offers a good product will probably take away from somebody else," he said.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment