Don’t force casinos on us

Posted on March 7, 2014 | By TU Editorial Board

 

 

 

 

Our opinion:When it comes to siting casinos, communities must be in control of their destiny.

 

In true gambling style, the Saratoga Springs City Council didn’t quite reveal its hand this week when it unanimously declared that it didn’t support the state’s new gambling law for a raft of reasons. Still, it would take a pretty blatant bait-and-switch for any council member to say they’re for a casino after this.

Saratoga Springs’ citizens now deserve certainty that the state will heed the clear sentiment in Tuesday’s resolution — that New York must respect community preference when it comes to hosting a casino.

Right now, Saratoga Springs’ preference is no. The city council couldn’t quite bring itself to say that magic word Tuesday, but a majority of citizens said it in November when they voted by a wide margin against the constitutional amendment allowing casino gambling.

What the council did say was still pretty strong: that it has virtually no confidence in the Upstate New York Gaming Economic Development Act of 2013, which sets out the casino siting process. The council resolution tore the act apart, pointing out that it allows the state to ignore a community’s desires, plans and zoning laws in siting a casino. The unambiguous bipartisan message from the council: That’s unacceptable.

The state says community preference will figure in the siting decision, but to what degree is unclear.

The Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo need to do better than leave Saratoga Springs — and any other community that doesn’t want a casino — dangling on this question for months. They should put in place a law that fully respects local sentiment in the process of siting casinos.

That wouldn’t open the process to politics, as the governor has suggested. It would simply affirm that the state is not going to force gambling on any community that doesn’t want it. If anything is blocking that fair and sensible idea, it’s Mr. Cuomo’s own political pride in refusing to acknowledge that he and lawmakers didn’t get this law right the first time.

Nor does it help that the city’s voice in the state Senate, Kathy Marchione, continues to sit on the fence. As both the area’s senator and a member of the Senate Racing and Wagering Committee, she should be insisting that the state not be able to run roughshod over her constituents or anyone else’s, not hedging her bets.

At least the new Gaming Commission chairman, Mark Gearan, the president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, says he will respect the casino law’s goal to help distressed upstate communities. It would take quite a bit of economic wizardry to fit Saratoga Springs into that definition, especially next to other communities.

That’s exactly what citizens and city leaders are trying to protect. They don’t want a casino resort siphoning business and vitality away from the thriving restaurants, stores and hotels in and around downtown Saratoga Springs.

This needs to be all about the city’s destiny, not some destination resort.


 http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/dont-force-casinos-on-us/28074/

 

"We Will Have No Say"

Letter: "We Will Have No Say"

- See more at: http://www.saratogawire.com/article/2078/140303-letter-to-editor-casino-gambling/#sthash.Mfoj62nD.dpuf



 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!

Resolutions coming together in opposition to expanded casino

Resolutions coming together in opposition to expanded casino

Two opposition resolutions to be merged

By Lucian McCarty
lmmcarty@saratogian.com

@SaratogianCDesk on Twitter
SARATOGA SPRINGS >> Dueling resolutions opposing expanded casino gambling are expected to be merged by Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

City officials also confirmed that they had received plans for the proposed expansion at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway, but would not make them available for public viewing.

Public Works Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco said Friday he was sponsoring a resolution drafted by Saratogians Against Vegas-style Expansion (SAVE) opposing locating a full-scale gaming facility in the Spa City.

“I want a strong resolution that says ‘no’ to any expansion over there,” Scirocco said Friday. He is not interested in waiting until the state issues its Request for Applications that will outline exactly what a full-scale casino would entail. “If we want to have any impact, we need to move now.”

He was making some changes to the drafted SAVE resolution, but said it largely coincided with his views on the subject.

At the same time, Mayor Joanne Yepsen also sponsored a resolution, but wouldn’t specify Friday exactly what it said and it was not released as part of the preliminary City Council agenda. Friday afternoon at about 3:30, the resolution was still being circulated in City Hall looking for edits, additions and comments from the City Council.

Yepsen said Friday that she expected the two resolutions to be merged. When asked if they were mutually exclusive, she said “Oh gosh no, they’re very similar.”

Scirocco said he would be willing to merge the two resolutions, provided it takes a strong stance against expansion.

To view a transcript from last month’s casino forum, click here.

City Council members Michele Madigan and John Franck said Thursday they would prefer to wait for the RFAs to be released from the state, and Commissioner Christian Mathiesen said that while he was personally opposed to casino gambling in the state, he would accept a modest expansion at the casino provided it comes with city oversight and provisions to protect city interests.

Still, he said he supports bringing the SAVE resolution to the table, though “I don’t agree with all of their concerns.”

Friday, city officials also confirmed they had received plans from the Saratoga Casino and Raceway showing the expansion they have planned, but they did not make the plans available for public review.

City Attorney Sarah Burger said the city only has one copy of the plans and “we are looking at it.”

When pressed to allow the documents to be reviewed, she said “would you like to go into my office and take the documents off of my desk to look at? Or any of these other desks, for that matter?”

Shortly thereafter, Yepsen said “we’re not trying to not be transparent” but they could not let the plans leave City Hall. She then said they could be reviewed, but City Planner Kate Maynard was not available and Yepsen did not know where the plans were.

http://www.saratogian.com/general-news/20140301/resolutions-coming-together-in-opposition-to-expanded-casino

Mayor Of Saratoga Springs Addresses Division On Casino Issue

Mayor Of Saratoga Springs Addresses Division On Casino Issue In First State Of The City Speech

By Lucas Willard

In her first state of the city address last night, Saratoga Springs mayor Joanne Yepsen worked to bring divided parties together. The coming year will prove whether she succeeds.

Listen

0:00

3:47

Joanne Yepsen’s first State of the City address was delivered in a packed Saratoga Springs City Center. But two distinct colors stood out in the crowd, red and white – the colors associated with the opponents and supporters of expanding casino gambling in Saratoga Springs.

Enlarge image

Credit Lucas Willard / WAMC

Mayor Joanne Yepsen

With the Saratoga Casino and Raceway pursuing a $30 million expansion and intending to apply for a full-sized casino license, a state-appointed casino siting panel still in formation, and a casino project RFP still to come, Yepsen acknowledged the need for more discussion between Albany and the casino industry in Saratoga Springs to determine how the impending arrival of a casino project in the Capital Region can best be handled to mitigate negative impacts.

“But until then, I remain very concerned about this issue, and I will continue to listen to all our citizens," said Yepsen. "But even though Albany and the Governor’s siting panel have the final determination, we can still try – we will do everything in our local power – to have our voices heard.”

Yepsen, a Democrat who won office in November, urged both Saratoga casino supporters and opponents to come together.

“But being this divisive and disingenuous will get us know where. And I implore all of you to talk to each other tonight in different colored shirts and find common ground, and think about how we can maximize the precious little input that we do have," said Yepsen.

Yepsen reaffirmed her stance against a Las Vegas-style casino, and said she seeks a solution that says “No” to an event space that could harm the City Center, to a ”colossal casino hotel” that could draw business from local hotels, or an “untold number” of restaurants and retail businesses that would harm downtown. She also said she supports a plan that benefits the city’s finances, supports jobs, and benefits harness racing.

Yepsen said she has asked horse trainers, breeders and riders to serve on a new City Racing Advisory Council to determine the effects of the state gaming law on the city’s horse racing industry.

Republican State Senator Kathy Marchione praised Yepsen’s desire to bring a divided community together on casino gambling, and reflected on Yepsen’s push for more community involvement in the siting process.

“I believe local zoning should be able to have a say,” said Marchione. “It’s our city and it’s difficult in situations like this. I know in school districts for example, it works the very same way – there isn’t local control and there should be.”

Marchione, who represents Rensselaer, and Saratoga Counties, both of which could be considered for casino development, said she will wait for the RFP before voicing her support for any particular project or location.

Dan Hogan, co-chair of the pro-casino Destination Saratoga group - the portion of the crowd wearing the white t-shirts - said he was pleased to see the new mayor welcome more conversation.

“I think the mayor is keeping an open mind about gaming in this city and I think that in and of itself is a victory for us,” said Hogan.

After her speech, Yepsen said her style of government will take a more collaborative approach.

“I was sure that even in this commission form of government we can build a collaborative government and we’re doing just that,” said Yepsen. “We can utilize the staff in city hall to be more effective and to feel even prouder about whay they’re doing. We can include local residents into boards and committees and initiatives and to make them feel proud about they’re doing to advance these initiatives in the city.”

Yepsen also announced the formation of a Business Advisory Council, and outlined an agenda on issues of open government, sustainability and comprehensive planning, and constituency service.


http://wamc.org/post/mayor-saratoga-springs-addresses-division-casino-issue-first-state-city-speech



 

Saratoga Opposition Growing

Upstate, Opposition to a Casino Is a Surprise

By JESSE McKINLEYJAN. 12, 2014

 

 

Horses at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway racino, which developers want to convert to a larger, full-scale operation. Ángel Franco/The New York Times

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — With its rich history of horse racing and a 19th-century gambling parlor so opulent that it drew comparisons to Monte Carlo, this upstate enclave would seem to be a natural choice to receive one of the state’s new full-scale casinos.

 

Yet what was once thought to be a fait accompli — that the casino designated for the capital region would wind up in Saratoga — is no longer a sure thing, and much of that is because of a coordinated resistance from many residents and business owners.

 

They acknowledge that the city’s fortunes have long been intertwined with gambling. Even now, with its world-class thoroughbred track closed for the season, a smaller harness track attracts visitors the year round, thanks to its so-called racino, filled with slots-like video lottery terminals.

 

But they say that the city does not need or want a full-fledged casino.

 

“Why mess with a good thing?” said Colin Klepetar, a middle school teacher who has helped organize against it. “This is already a world-class town.”

 

Slots-like terminals at the racino. Ángel Franco/The New York Times

The opposition stands in stark contrast to the support in areas like the Catskills and the state’s Southern Tier counties along the northern border of Pennsylvania, where business and political leaders have long pushed for casinos to revitalize stagnant economies and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has banked on gambling as a solution to upstate economic woes. And even in Saratoga, city and county officials have endorsed the idea.

 

Mr. Cuomo pushed for a statewide referendum: The measure, which authorized as many as seven new casinos, was approved in November, with 57 percent of voters in favor. But it did not pass in Saratoga Springs or in Saratoga County.

 

“This community voted no by 57 percent and the county voted no by 54 percent,” said Sara Boivin, an art historian who is a member of Saratogians Against Vegas-Style Expansion, or SAVE, which has been lobbying local politicians and protesting against potential casino developers. “We just want that message to be taken by officials.”

 

The group, which formed soon after the referendum, has canvassed neighborhoods, packed meetings with opponents and gathered more than 1,000 signatures on petitions urging leaders to reject a new casino. Similar opposition has also been seen in several communities in neighboring Massachusetts.

 

Nonetheless, the uprising in Saratoga has caught some local officials off guard.

 

New York already has five Indian-run casinos, all of them upstate, and nine racinos at racetracks, including the successful one here — the Saratoga Casino and Raceway — which developers would like to see converted to a larger, full-scale operation.

 

Developers are finalizing plans in the Catskills, the Hudson Valley and the Southern Tier, where competitions for casinos have pitted neighboring towns or counties against one another. Other cities in the capital region recently approved pro-casino resolutions, including Rensselaer, the downtrodden city across the Hudson River from Albany.

 

 

 

The grass-roots anti-casino efforts recently caused casino supporters to begin a public relations push of their own. They say, in part, that if Saratoga does not allow a casino to be built here, it will be built nearby instead, damaging the town and the racing industry that the town supports.

 

“Now that the referendum has passed, the question of whether we are for or against casino-style gambling is moot,” said Joanne Dittes Yepsen, a former county supervisor who took office as Saratoga’s mayor this month. “There is a new question that needs to be answered: Will Saratoga Springs be hurt more if the casino is placed in a nearby municipality or within the city itself?”

Unlike Massachusetts, where a local vote is needed for casino owners to gain approval to build, New York has no provision requiring local voter approval. Instead, the state law has broader language that asks only that developers gain “public support in the host and nearby municipalities,” something that “may be demonstrated through the passage of local laws or public comment.”

 

No such vote is planned in Saratoga, a city of 27,000, but opponents think the Nov. 5 results should speak for themselves.

 

SAVE, the anti-casino group, says it fears that a bigger casino would drive up crime rates, drive down property values and generally ruin the city’s small-town, big-money vibe. That appeal is evident: Saratoga has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state; a thriving downtown, stocked with boutiques and buskers, public art and $25 entrees; and residential areas dotted with colonnaded homes and lawns decorated with statuary. The city’s north side is home to Skidmore College, another beloved local institution. To the east is Yaddo, the secluded artists’ colony, and the city’s western edge is home to an emerging arts scene.

 

The raceway is on the city’s southern flank, not far from the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the summer host of the New York City Ballet. Organizers there and at other arts organizations fear the competition for entertainment dollars from a new casino, which would most likely have hundreds of slot machines, dozens of table games, and entertainment and convention facilities.

A sign opposing a new casino, which opponents say will hurt existing gambling venues. Ángel Franco/The New York Times

But James Featherstonhaugh, an owner of the raceway who is also a prominent Albany lobbyist and president of a trade group representing racino owners, said none of that would change the character of the city.

 

“We don’t want a Las Vegas-style casino in Saratoga either,” Mr. Featherstonhaugh said. “We want a Saratoga-style casino.”

 

Raceway executives made that point at a community forum in December that drew more than 1,000 people, including a Christmas-y mix of supporters (wearing green stickers reading “Save Racing/Save Jobs”) and opponents (wearing red “Casi-NO!” T-shirts).

 

The forum included business owners who pressed the raceway officials on whether the new casino would discount drinks and hotel rooms, stay open 24 hours or otherwise draw business away from their establishments. Officials repeatedly said they wanted to be good neighbors, but also said their plans were still evolving. “There are too many unknowns right now,” said Rita Cox, a spokeswoman for the track.

 

Mark Baker, president of the convention center, said he was concerned about a new casino “taking people’s feet off the streets of downtown Saratoga,” which was slowly rebuilt after hitting the skids in the 1950s and ’60s. “We’ve worked decades to come back to this hallmark moment that the city’s in right now,” he said.

 

The city’s popularity dates to the mid-1800s, when mineral baths drew weary urbanites north in search of peace, quiet and a good soak. A pair of horsemen — John Hunter and William R. Travers — in 1863 sponsored four days of racing on a small oval near downtown, and more gambling soon followed, including the Canfield Casino, which now houses a city museum.

 

Over the decades, a parade of famous and infamous figures made their way to Saratoga to gamble or gambol, including the likes of Lillian Russell and Meyer Lansky. The city began a renaissance in the early 1970s, implementing a series of small improvements — repainted storefronts, newly planted trees — and broader changes that encouraged a vibrant downtown. Now the city hosts some of the world’s richest horse racing fans for nearly two months every summer, a deluge of people and tourist dollars.

 

What will happen next remains to be seen. At her inauguration on Jan. 1 at — appropriately enough — the Canfield Casino, Mayor Yepsen echoed the sentiment that Saratoga should not become Las Vegas. But the process continues: At his State of the State address last week, Governor Cuomo laid out the process of casino selection, with bids due in June and construction likely to begin before the end of the year.

 

At the same time, there are pockets of hard times in Saratoga, and the debate goes on there, too. On a recent morning, two unemployed men drank beer in the remains of a factory near downtown. And while they admitted the casino might mean jobs, one of the men, Kevin Germaine, 55, who said he lived in a nearby park, did not like the idea. “We already got one,” he said.

 

 

A version of this article appears in print on January 13, 2014, on page A14 of the New York edition with the headline: Upstate, Opposition to a Casino Is a Surprise.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/13/nyregion/upstate-opposition-to-a-casino-is-a-surprise.html?_r=0

JOAN WICKERSHAM

The ghosts of casinos past

file 2001/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Saratoga Springs History Museum occupies an 1800s building once billed as the finest casino in the world.

By Joan Wickersham

| Globe Columnist January 11, 2014

Saratoga Springs, N.Y., 1867: Gentlemen, it is going to be magnificent. The finest casino in the world. A mansion, almost a palace, modeled on the great casinos of Europe. The high-stakes gambling room will attract the rich, the famous, the glamorous: Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain. Along with gambling, the casino will be a centerpiece for glittering entertainment. Leading actors and singers will come and perform. There will be a convention center, catering to political parties and business groups. New hotels will be built, including the biggest hotel in the world. Fabulous shopping and restaurants, too.

Listen, we need to do something to reinvent ourselves, to build our city up, to boost our local economy. Saratoga used to be a society place, a resort that attracted a lot of Southerners, but of course the recent war stopped all that.

The casino is our answer. It will augment the racetrack, create new jobs, and attract new people in search of leisure and excitement. And it will pump millions of dollars into our economy.

 

Saratoga Springs, 1894: We’re making the casino bigger and better. Bringing in a world-class chef. Extending credit to gamblers so they can borrow money and gamble even more.

Celebrities like Diamond Jim Brady, the actress Lillian Russell, and the famous gambler Bet-A-Million Gates are regulars. Conventions held here will include the American Car Builders Association, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, and the New York State Undertakers Association. Is it a little tawdry? Sure, but it’s all good fun. Never mind that journalist Nellie Bly wrote of Saratoga, “Crime is holding a convention there, and vice is enjoying a festival such as it never dared approach before.”

Saratoga Springs, 1952: The casino has been closed for 40 years. The glamorous celebrities and gamblers have moved on to Havana and then Las Vegas. With its economy based almost entirely on gambling, Saratoga is in the midst of a long, slow decline. The convention business has dried up. The huge hotels have closed. Some of them have burned down; others have sat derelict. There’s been no major private development downtown since before World War I. By 1952, when the last big hotel is torn down, half the main street is vacant. All along Broadway you see unpainted buildings, empty storefronts, empty lots. “Saratoga is dead and doesn’t know enough to lie down,” according to Melvin Heimer, the town’s leading historian.

Saratoga Springs, 2014: Today the old casino is a museum. For five bucks you can walk up the shabby grand staircase into the high-stakes room, where a mannequin in an 1890s bartender costume, with a TV screen for a face, will welcome you and offer you a drink and a club sandwich and a room upstairs for the night, in a taped loop that plays over and over and over. In a nearby glass case, Lillian Russell’s ancient underwear is on display.

Saratoga Springs is prosperous again, with a more balanced and sustainable economy than it’s ever had before. Thoughtful planning, architectural and environmental preservation, and socially useful investments have made the difference. The downtown has been revitalized with a mix of residential and business development. Tourism is big again. The racetrack, which operates for a six-week summer season, is still a major attraction; but tourists also come for the arts (since 1966, Saratoga has been the permanent summer home of the New York City Ballet, and the Philadelphia Orchestra is also in residence every summer).

Today, walking through the downtown, you can see all the layers of Saratoga’s boom and decline and revival: the flamboyant Victorian survivors of the town’s heady and troubled gambling era, and the new housing and commercial buildings that fill the holes left by the years of decline. The city has put itself back together brilliantly – but it’s taken decades.

Massachusetts, 2014: Cities and towns are considering whether or not to stake their economic futures on a casino. Is the short-term infusion of excitement and cash worth it if the cost might be long-term ruin? It’s a complicated question — but before we gamble on the future, maybe we should take a good long look at Saratoga’s past.

Joan Wickersham’s column appears regularly in the Globe. Her latest book is “The News From Spain: Seven Variations on a Love Story.’’


http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/01/11/the-ghosts-casinos-past/5TeIupPxePaECzZWnoQVUM/story.html?s_campaign=email_BG_TodaysHeadline

 

Saratogians Against Vegas-Style Expansion

Gambling foes seek council resolution

Dennis Yusk, Times Union

By Dennis Yusko

Published 10:33 pm, Tuesday, January 7, 2014

 

Saratoga Springs

Anti-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

The Giant Sucking Sound Ross Perot talked about

Einstein defined insanity as repeated the same thing over and over and over again and expecting different results.

Why would ANY community or any state believe they are immune from the destruction of Predatory Gambling that has been exhibited elsewhere?

No one is immune, yet proponents have convinced themselves and want you to believe 'We're different!'

Predatory Gambling will destroy local businesses, increase crime, increase costs, destroy each community it touches and will not SAVE horse racing.

Why would anyone believe they're DIFFERENT ?

Here's Save Saratoga  




Groups form to fight for, against casino gambling in Saratoga County


SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Both pro- and anti-gambling groups are going all in on lobbying efforts as the competition for four upstate casinos officially has begun.

A new group called Destination Saratoga formed in December to promote the expansion of Saratoga Casino & Raceway into a full-fledged casino with table games.

An organization called Save Saratoga came together shortly after the November general election, when statewide voters approved the building of four non-Indian casinos upstate. Two are expected to be located in the Catskills, one in the Southern Tier and one in the Saratoga-Albany area.
Save Saratoga claims that an expansion of gambling would hurt the quality of life in Saratoga Springs.

Both sides are gearing up for the flurry of activity to come, following the legislation taking effect as of Jan. 1.

The New York State Gaming Commission will appoint a five-member Gaming Facility Location Board, which will be in charge of awarding the sites of the casinos. Once at least three members are in place, the board would make a request for applications and set a 90-day deadline.

It will cost prospective casino operators $1 million to make an application. Seventy percent of the selection criteria will be based on economic development generated by the proposed casino. Local support accounts for 20 percent. The remaining 10 percent is based on miscellaneous factors such as addressing problem gamblers, promoting workforce needs and using sustainable development practices.

The exact timetable is unknown but officials have said previously that they want the sites to be awarded in the summer.

Spokesman Morgan Hook said Destination Saratoga was started to provide the counterbalance to all the groups that have been talking about the negative effects of the expansion of casino gambling.
Racino expansion pushed

Advocates believe that it is important that the franchise be awarded to Saratoga Casino & Raceway,
which Hook said has operated successfully for 10 years, generated hundreds of million dollars in education aid and paid city and county property taxes.

Expansion of the existing racino would provide tremendous benefits, according to Hook.

“It would create about 600 jobs. It would dramatically increase the amount of direct aid to the county and city government,” he said.

About 80 percent of tax revenues from casinos will be split equally among the host city and host county. If a casino were located in Saratoga Springs, the city and county would split about $11.5 million annually, according to estimates from the state Division of Budget.

Destination Saratoga is a coalition made up of business and community leaders and is led by three co-chairpersons: Dan Hogan, a longtime member of the state’s Racing and Wagering Commission; former Saratoga Springs Deputy Mayor Hank Kuczynski; and resident Marcy Taylor.

More than 350 residents attended the group’s first meeting, according to Klepetar. The organization launched its website www.DestinationSaratoga.com around the first full week of December, and Hook said more than 500 people had liked the group’s Facebook page as of Dec. 23.

In a recent news release, the coalition said it agrees that Las Vegas-style casinos have no place in Saratoga Springs or elsewhere in the Capital Region. However, members said that wouldn’t be what would happen at the existing racino. It would be an expansion to allow table games such as poker and blackjack.

“You’re working with a trusted partner,” he said.

This is preferable to having an outside unknown entity come in and run gambling, according to Hook.

“Why would we mess with what success?” he asked.

Other potential applicants may come forward. There are reports casino operators are interested in developing U.W. Marx construction’s waterfront property in Rensselaer.

Also, the Moreau Town Board on Dec. 30 approved writing a letter to the governor, endorsing the soon-to-be closed Mount McGregor prison as a site for a casino.

Expansion to proceed

Regardless of whether Saratoga Casino and Raceway is awarded one of the casino bids, it is moving ahead with a $30 million expansion project, including a 120-room hotel with a spa, indoor pool, bar, 24,000-square-foot multipurpose event room and a fine-dining restaurant.

“Everything is still as it was announced back in May. Nothing has changed,” said spokeswoman Amy Brannigan.

Racino officials hope to break ground this spring. Construction wouldn’t be completed until late spring or early summer of 2015.

Brannigan said it is too early to talk about plans for the full-fledged casino.

“We’re still waiting for more information from the state as to how the bid process is going to be laid out,” she said.

Quality of life

Save Saratoga is concerned that expanded casino gambling would destroy the quality of life, according to Colin Klepetar, one of the group’s founders.

The city has a thriving downtown and a diverse economy. A bigger casino could upset that balance.

“Bringing in a casino resort will draw people that are already coming to Saratoga Springs away from the things that make it so great, which will take dollars away from local businesses downtown, dollars from the Saratoga Performing Arts Center,” he said.

Klepetar said other communities where casinos were built found that it does not provide the economic boost as advertised.

“In every one of those communities, they lose local jobs,” he said.

If the casino franchise is awarded to another site in the Capital Region, Klepetar said the impact on Saratoga Springs — and its 150-year-old historic racetrack — could be even worse.

“Why mess with something that’s being so successful right now?” he asked.

Also, sometimes all the tax revenue promised is not generated.

Klepetar pointed out that a majority of local voters rejected the casino amendment — by a large margin. More people voted against the casino than cast ballots for Mayor Joanne Yepsen.

Nearly 54 percent of Saratoga County residents voted against the amendment, which passed statewide with 57 percent of the vote.

Advocates are writing letters to the editor to local newspapers about the issue. They are going to continue to put pressure on elected officials in Saratoga Springs and are submitting petitions to the City Council, according to Klepetar.

“It’s a very interesting situation where we’re being outfunded and outspent by this huge casino machine that’s trying to silence our voice,” he said. “We’re just hoping our representatives will listen to our voice.”

Interfaith Impact of New York State also spoke out against the casino amendment, but is not taking active role at this stage, according to Executive Director Robb Smith.

The organization, which describes itself as a coalition of people from different faiths advocating for the common good, remains concerned that a casino would increase the number of problem gamblers and lead to other social problems.

“You get bankruptcies, an increase in family dysfunction and spousal abuse, and alcoholism and drug addition. You get crime, prostitution, burglaries,” he said.

Smith said casinos need problem gamblers for a large percentage of their business. He also is concerned with money that is taken out of the economy with casinos.

“It’s that giant sucking sound that Ross Perot used to talk about,” he said. “It’s like sticking a vacuum cleaner in there and sucking up local cash.”

Still many unknowns

The Upstate Theater Coalition has expressed concern that casinos would steal away live entertainment options from other venues. The legislation states that casino operators have to work in partnership with venue operators on developing entertainment.

Harvey Fox, longtime owner of N. Fox Jewelers in downtown Saratoga Springs, said he isn’t opposed to gambling but has concerns about the scope of the project.

Casinos typically have many shops and restaurants among the amenities, which are designed to keep visitors on the property. That could hurt downtown businesses.

“If it’s a large enough retail component and enough different restaurants, people will go there,” he said.

The devil is in the details, according to Fox.

“We really need to know the facts,” Fox said.

http://poststar.com/news/local/groups-form-to-fight-for-against-casino-gambling-in-saratoga/article_31366478-74bc-11e3-9a6c-001a4bcf887a.html