Letter: "We Will Have No Say"
TO: The Editor
FROM: Tabitha L. Orthwein, Bloomfield Road, Saratoga Springs
"Saratoga-style gaming is what we do here," said Rita Cox, Saratoga Casino and Raceway manager in a Times Union article on Jan. 6, 2014. She’s right about that and I give the marketers great credit for coming up with the phrase “Saratoga-style gaming.” It sounds so civilized and comforting. Why? Because it’s what we have now! But, it’s not what we can be guaranteed if a licensed casino is forced upon our community. Expansion that includes no local input or control, live-gaming tables and on-site hotel rooms, restaurants, entertainment venues and conference facilities is NOT Saratoga-style, it’s Saratoga-destructive.
If a casino expansion is slated for Saratoga Springs we cannot be guaranteed that we will not get the full-on-Vegas-style expansion. Why? Because we will have NO SAY! No say in what the facility looks like, no say in what kind of gaming takes place; no say in who they may sell their license to; No say at all! We cannot afford to roll the dice on this one—the state already gambled and we lost. We lost local control!
City Council leaders, whether you support casino expansion or not, your only vote here is NO. As a leader how can you imagine voting for any resolution that will take away your ability to lead? Yes, this is a politically charged issue, but when stripped down to its most basic form, it’s an issue about leadership and control. Do we really want to trust a politically appointed financially motivated committee of outsiders to make critical decisions about our city’s future? We elected you, not them!
The leaders, citizens, businesses, and organizations of Saratoga Springs have worked collaboratively to create a vibrant community. We have planned, negotiated, and together we have done well winning many notable awards for what we have created and sustained. Now, because of state statutes, casinos are exempt from local planning laws! How can we allow ourselves to be saddled with an expansion that stands to change our community dramatically and have no say in the project?! As it stands we would have no power to require that a casino purchase its supplies locally; no power to require that workers are locals; no power to require that a casino offer only live “Saratoga-style “gambling and not offer a casino-subsidized conference center and entertainment venue with which non-casino-subsidized establishments, such as the City Center and SPAC, cannot compete.
Let’s be satisfied with Saratoga-style gaming and a thriving community with thoughtful local control over its expansion and future. When it comes to gambling and government bigger is not always better... and that’s something you can bet on!
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