The owner of Vernon Downs racetrack said Governor Cuomo’s proposal to amend the state constitution and expand casino gaming in New York would provide an economic boost to the state. Jeff Gural said today that if the governor’s plan to expand casino gaming moves forward the most likely scenario would involve a new privately built casino in the Catskills region and allowing existing racinos to add table gaming. Currently racinos connected to racetracks can only offer electronic slot machines.
Gural says adding table games would provide jobs and additional money for the state but anti gambling groups say those benefits do not outweigh the increased crime and gambling addiction issues that would come with more casinos.
Cornell University economics Professor Robert Frank told the Associated Press that "Legalized casino gambling encourages people to pin their hopes on games of chance that are stacked against them.”
"Those who are determined to gamble will find some way to do so, but why lend government's imprimatur to predators' efforts to exploit people who can least afford to bear the inevitable losses?" Frank said.
Both Cuomo and Gural said that there is already plenty of gambling in New York right now and it makes sense to expand gaming to bring in more revenue. Gural noted that the Turning Stone Casino in Verona does not pay any taxes but his Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs racinos do. Racinos in New York State brought in close to one billion dollars in revenue that New York State spent on education last year according to Gural.
Gural said he would like to add table gaming to both Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs if he was allowed to. Tioga Downs would have a significant expansion of table games according to Gural but he said Vernon Downs would add a smaller amount due to the competition from Turning Stone Casino just down the road. Vernon Downs finished an $8.9 million dollar renovation last summer including a 500 person event center.
Should racinos be able to expand to full casinos or does New York State already have enough gambling? Leave your thoughts below.
