Governor of New York looking at 'destination gaming locations'

Tuesday, December 6, 2011  

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) said he wants the state to create "destination gaming locations" but has yet to offer specifics.

In an opinion published this week, Cuomo identified gaming as a way for the state to address its budget woes. "[W]e should pursue a comprehensive gaming plan – recognizing the reality that New York is already in the gaming business – and create destination gaming locations," he wrote. "Through this plan, we can promote job creation and recapture revenue that is currently being lost to other states."

State law already authorizes Class III gaming compacts for as many as three casinos in the Catskills. The Seneca Nation and other tribes are interested in the region, which is about 90 miles north of New York City.

However, the tribe cautioned that voters won't support an expansion of non-Indian gaming. In a new poll, the tribe said 63 percent of respondents oppose a constitutional amendment, which some lawmakers hope to pursue.

Cuomo hasn't said whether he is negotiating a compact with the newly recognized Shinnecock Nation, whose leaders want to open up to three casinos on Long Island.

Get the Story:
Cuomo casino gambling plan short on details (The Middletown Times Herald-Record 12/6)
Cuomo Looks To Gaming To Address State Deficit (The Jamestown Post-Journal 12/6)
Officials weigh in on Cuomo’s economic proposals (The Utica Observer-Dispatch 12/6)
Bonacic to advance plans for casino constitutional amendment (The Mid-Hudson News Network 12/6)
Poll: Western New Yorkers support casinos (AP 12/6)
Seneca leader, gaming advocate on casino expansion (The Albany Times-Union 12/5)
Andrew Cuomo Job Plan: Gaming And Job Training (AP 12/5)
Rolling The Dice On Casino Gambling In New York (Politics on the Hudson 12/5)