Proctors CEO urges caution on casinos
Entertainment venues at gaming sites hurt theaters, Morris warns
By Brian Nearing
Published 9:30 pm, Thursday, January 31, 2013
COLONIE — A trove of tourism officials said Thursday that plans by Gov. Andrew Cuomo for up to three casinos in the state ought to include the Capital Region.But the head of Proctors offered this note of caution: Don't let casinos have large entertainment venues to siphon off paying customers from elsewhere.
"Keep 1,200-seat theaters out of them," said Philip Morris, Proctors CEO, who added such self-contained casino/entertainment complexes were "a disaster in Connecticut, and would be a disaster for us."
Connecticut is home to the Foxwoods Resort, which includes two full-scale theaters, as well as restaurants and shopping. Such casinos are "unfair competition" to nearby established theaters and other entertainment venues, said Morris, who spoke as part of gathering of several dozen tourism officials at The Desmond to discuss issues affecting the industry.
Included were the state Hospitality & Tourism Association, Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Albany Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, Schenectady County Visitors Agency, The Chamber of Schenectady County and Washington County Tourism.
While a constitutional amendment will allow up to seven full casinos in the state, Cuomo has proposed permitting and siting three in a first round, and limiting their location to counties north of New York City, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties. He has also said that the new governor-appointed Gaming Commission that comes into operation Friday should decide sites.
Todd Shimkus, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said any casino considered for the Capital Region ought to be "limited to the current video lottery terminal (parlors) and racing locations, including the Saratoga Casino and Raceway." And, any locality that gets a casino also ought to receive "host-benefit payments to defray local costs associated with expanded casino operations and to reduce real property taxes," he added.
Two other ideas advanced by the governor — a possible extension of the school year and an increased minimum wage — also drew some fire.
"We have grave concerns over the minimum wage," said Jan Marie Chesterton, president of the Hospitality & Tourism Association. She said that would force up costs at tourism-related businesses.
And a longer school year, she warned, would "compromise" the traditional summer vacation season, when many businesses make enough to survive for the year, and also cut back on the pool of teenagers looking for summer jobs, Chesterton said.
Christine Hoffer, tourism director for Washington County, said the state needs to press Amtrak to allow passengers to bring their bicycles on trains. Her county runs several large road races that draw riders from beyond the county, including the Tour of the Battenkill, one of the self-described largest single-day races in the world.
Amtrak does not allow passengers to bring bikes on its Adirondack line, which passes through Washington County between New York City, the Capital Region and Montreal.
Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Proctors-CEO-urges-caution-on-casinos-4241384.php#ixzz2JiT8GrAc
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