Gambling foes seek council resolution
By Dennis Yusko
Published 10:33 pm, Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Saratoga SpringsAnti-casino forces turned out in force on a frigid Tuesday night to urge the City Council to pass a resolution saying an expansion of gambling is not wanted in the city.
In a rousing show of opposition, more than a dozen speakers told the council that Saratogians had opposed more gambling in a state referendum, and elected officials should follow their lead.
"We voted on this," Robert Davis of Phila Street said, speaking to applause. He said the five-member council should vote to ask a state casino-siting committee "to bypass Saratoga and keep a casino complex far from us."
Many of the speakers wore red shirts popularized by members of the group Saratogians Against Vegas-style Expansion. They railed against casino gambling at Democrat Joanne Yepsen's first council meeting as mayor.
New Yorkers on Nov. 5 approved amending the state constitution to allow for casino gambling, but city residents opposed with 58 percent of the vote. The Saratoga Casino and Raceway is applying for one of up to four casino licenses the state intends to award. The casino wants table games at its property, which now has only video lottery terminals and horse racing.
Casino Vice President Skip Carlson spoke at Tuesday's meeting. He asked for the council's support in obtaining a casino license. He said the Saratoga casino was the best location in the Capital Region area for casino gambling. A full casino would preserve 630 jobs and add another 600 to 700, Carlson said.
"This is a very, very important issue to all folks who earn a living at our place," Carlson said. "I hope everyone is open-minded, listens to the facts and is fair-minded."
A handful of speakers, including a casino employee, supported more gambling. They were largely drowned out by anti-casino voices that said the city didn't need or want more gambling.
Mark Baker, president of Saratoga Springs City Center on Broadway, told the council that the casino's $30 million expansion, which includes a hotel and 24,000 square feet of event space, would compete with the city center and could have a devastating impact on downtown's retail establishments.
"Adding jobs in one sector to lose them in another is not positive economic growth," Baker said.
The council did not take a vote.
Yepsen thanked everyone who attended the meeting.
"It's so important to continue this conversation," the mayor said, "and we will do that."
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Gambling-foes-seek-council-resolution-5122714.php
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