OK, Perhaps the Governor is Going to Do Somthing This Year

A Blog on the Daily News website reports today that Governor Cuomo is apparantly reversing his position of last week and that casinos development in New York will be full steam ahead.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2013/05/cuomo-rolls-the-dice-on-upstate-new-york-casinos-none-in-nyc-for-5-years

Several news sources last week reported that the Govrnor did not want to pursue the Casino Referendum this year as it would coincide with the NYC mayoral Race.  The problem would be that NYC is not expected to get a Casino in the current proposal for at least five years and the Mayoral race would bring out City voters, while Upstate voters would be less motivated to come out.

So, apparently, this morning the Governor said he would go forward with seeking the second legislative approval for casinos but also that a referendum could be held this year. 

Also interesting, the author states in the article that if the three Indian Tribes reach an agreement with him, then he will not place State casinos in proximity to Indian Casinos, as the Satte has already committed to do by prior Gaming Compacts.

The implied threat is if the Oneida, Mohawk and Seneca Tribes do not reach an agreement with the State, he will drop a Casino in their back (or front) yards and compete with the Tribes toe to toe for gaming dollars.

Oh, and by the way, the Governor is going to establish a independent site selection committee for the upstate casinos.  "We do not want a politically determined outcome.", says He.

So After a Long Quiet Winter....

I have sorely neglected my undertaking in these matters, but I cannot avoid posting on news appearing yesterday and today:

GOV. CUOMO IS SLOWING HIS PURSUIT OF LEGALIZED GAMING

The Daily News reported yesterday that the Governor does not want the referendum vote to legalize gambling in New York to have to be held along side the New York City Mayoral election.

“The main election in the state in November is the New York City mayoral election,” Cuomo told reporters in the Capitol’s Red Room Wednesday.

“So you would have the somewhat unusual circumstance of an election to site casinos in upstate New York where the largest turnout is New York City,” Cuomo continued. “New York City has no vested interest because there would be no casinos in New York City.”

Cuomo said the New York City turnout is a “major issue that has come up” and one option is to wait until 2014 when, coincidently he would be running for election.

“That would be another option that I would be open to,” Cuomo said.

There is no talk that I am hearing of how and when the second legislative vote may take place to even get us to the point of a referendum.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2013/05/gov-cuomo-says-city-mayoral-race-may-push-off-vote-on-legalized-gambling

THE FEDS RAIDED THE SHINNECOCK GAMING AUTHORITY

As you may or may not recall, the Shinnecock Indian Tribe owns very nice real estate in the Hamptons, but has only recently received federal recognition as an Indian Nation.

So I read today that the FBI, along with the New York State Police, are raiding the Shinnecock Tribe's Gaming Authority Office and the homes of members of the Gaming Authority, grabbing paperwork and perhaps computers.

But the suprising issue is that the Tribe does not even have a Casino yet.  Hum?  What are they up to?

But, it does not appear, at this point, that Federal Criminal concerns motivated this action, but rather internal Tribal politics.  (I have always held that Indian Tribal Politics is a contact sport, like Lacrosse, but not as polite.)

Indian Country Today reports that:  The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the Shinnecock Indian Nation reservation early this morning and conducted a search of the tribal Gaming Authority’s offices and the home of a member of the Gaming Authority, tribal members said.

Tribal members who asked not to be identified said the FBI arrived at the Long Island reservation around 6 a.m. and were on site most of the morning. “There are 15-20 FBI agents here and at least six or seven state police cars as well. They are raiding the Gaming Authority trailer and the home of one of the Gaming Authority members. They are up here deep,” a tribal member told Indian Country Today Media Network. The Gaming Authority office contains computers and documents relating to the tribe’s effort to establish a casino in partnership with Michael Malik, a Detroit-based casino developer who is financing the tribe’s efforts to establish a gaming facility.

But, it appears that the complaints giving rise to the action arise from internal tribal leadership disputes (Not to say that those complaints are not true or that nothing illegal took place, just that some Shinnecocks turned on other Shinnecocks)

On March 7, former Shinnecock Trustees Lance Gumbs and Gordell Wright, who were defeated in elections in early April, filed a request with the elected Tribal Council for an investigation into an alleged secret deal that former Trustees Randy King, Fred Bess and Gerrod Smith made with Malik. Gumbs and Wright also filed a similar request March 28 with the National Indian Gaming Commission for an investigation to include the Department of Justice and other federal agencies regarding potential violations of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and criminal violations of federal statutes involving a “takeover of tribal government” involving Gateway in an attempt to “defraud” the tribe of gaming and other economic development revenues.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/05/01/fbi-raids-shinnecock-gaming-authority-ongoing-probe-149140

 

http://southampton.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/fbi-searching-shinnecock-reservation

 

But dearest friends, alas! must part. The passing of NYRA

Fred Dicker of the New York Post reports today that Governor Cuomo has given up on trying reforming NYRA and instead will let it go quietly into that good night.  Apparently, the Governor has decided to seek bids for an experienced management company to come in and take over.  This makes sense.  Critics have been complaining about a State run / political NYRA.   This will resolve that issue

The important thing here is the Racing and the Equine industry.  This may be just the way to get that done.

Cuomo, who will sign legislation within days giving the state control of NYRA’s board of directors, plans to seek public bids for a new operator to replace NYRA, a not-for-profit corporation, from for-profit companies with deep experience in the racing and/or entertainment industries, sources said.

A source with firsthand knowledge said it will take several months to draw up the specifics, and bids will likely be solicited by the middle of next year.

“The NYRA model won’t work. It’s flawed, and it’s unable to do the job. Privatizing makes the most sense,’’ said the source.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/gov_bettor_way_ALg4pY94Jl7I4fjg2K89JM

Judge rules that poker isn’t gambling under federal law

Online players rejoice: ‘Poker is not a crime, it is a game of skill’

OK, while this may seem at first blush to be a big thing in New York, in the end, I do not think it will change the gaming landscape.   While poker may no longer be gambling in New York under Federal Law, I beleive that poker will remain illegal gambling under the New York State Penal Law.

New York defines a "game of chance" any game "whose outcome depends in a material degree upon an element of chance, notwithstanding that skill of the contestants may also be a factor....."  Penal Law Section 225.00. 

But it is a fun ruling anyway.

Larry Neumeister, Associated Press

Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012 | 6 p.m.

 

NEW YORK — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that poker is more a game of skill than chance and cannot be prosecuted under a law created to stop organized crime families from making millions of dollars from gambling.

The decision by Judge Jack Weinstein in Brooklyn was embraced by advocates of card games pushing to legalize Internet poker in the United States. The judge relied extensively on the findings of a defense expert who analyzed online poker games.

The ruling tossed out a jury's July conviction of a man charged with conspiring to operate an illegal underground poker club, a business featuring Texas Hold'em games run in a warehouse where he also sold electric bicycles. There were no allegations in the case that organized crime was involved or that anything such as money laundering or loansharking occurred.

"Because the poker played on the defendant's premises is not predominately a game of chance, it is not gambling" as defined in the federal law, the judge wrote in a lengthy decision that traced the history of poker and federal laws to combat illegal gambling.

Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.

The judge said his findings will not prevent federal law enforcement authorities from curbing the influence of organized crime because poker games operated through the Mafia can be prosecuted through federal racketeering laws. He said it also does not prevent states from banning card games operated as businesses, which many of them have. He mentioned that state courts that have ruled on the issue are divided as to whether poker constitutes a game of skill, a game of chance, or a mixture of the two.

Defense lawyer Kannan Sundaram had asked the judge to reject the jury verdict against Lawrence
Dicristina on the grounds that the law doesn't apply to the case. Sundaram said Tuesday his client was happy with the decision.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/aug/21/judge-rules-poker-isnt-gambling-under-federal-law/ 

The release of a report on the investigation into thoroughbred fatalities at the Aqueduct Racetrack's inner track from December 2011 to March 2012 has been delayed until after Saturday's running of the Travers Stakes in Saratoga Springs.

The New York Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety was created in late March at the behest of Gov. Andrew Cuomo to investigate 20 horse deaths that happened during the winter meet at Aqueduct. The four-member task force consisted of retired jockey Jerry Bailey, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Chairman and CEO Alan Foreman, New Jersey Equine Clinic hospital director Dr. Scott Palmer and Kentucky Horse Racing Commission medical director Dr. Mary Scollay.

http://www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/capital-region-scene/2012/aug/21/aqueduct-horse-death-probe-results-delayed/

In other news, NYRA is tired of having its handle and race attendence placed under the spotlight:

The New York Racing Association has announced that it will no longer release handle and attendance figures at the close of the each racing week following the last race on Saratoga's Monday cards.

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/posttime/nyra_changes_figures_release_policy_8xQJy8l75jDeUYzttVwRyK#ixzz24I7UD6Wd

In Massachusetts, MGM is going forward with its' proposal for a Casino in Springfield:

Casino giant MGM Resorts International is going to unveil plans Wednesday for a resort casino in Springfield Massachusetts. 

At a formal announcement top MGM officials plan to release architectural renderings of what is described as a major entertainment complex and provide site tours. Several city councilors have confirmed MGM’s interest in building a casino in a three block area of the south end of downtown.

Its an area where several buildings were damaged by last year’s tornado. Ameristar casinos has also proposed a project in Springfield, and more are expected according Paula Meara, who chairs the city’s casino site committee.

Also competing for the sole western Massachusetts casino license is Mohegan Sun, which has had a project in development for years in Palmer.

The Comptroller's Audit and tid bits

The Comptroller's Audit

Shock of shocks: the Comptroller has found that the VLTs are not increasing attendance of betting at the Harness Tracks.  It has always seemed to me that the purpose of giving the harness tracks the VLT parlors is to provide a subsidy to the equine industry in New York, which not only does not cost the taxpayers anything but also provides significant revenue to the State itself.

Furthermore, New York needed the cover of helping the harness tracks to sell the idea.

As strange as it may sound, twelve years ago the public and the State elected leaders had a hard time envisioning legalized gaming in New York.  In order to make it happen, the State needed a cover that the people could accept.  There was already betting at the tracks and if we do not let them have it, our horse industry will die.  All true.  But it also let the camels nose in under the tent and now we are discussing seven full blown casinos in the State of New York.

But I will tell you where this all came from.  If the Supreme Court and Congress had not authorized Indian casinos, we would not be having this discussion at all.

I have been fairly certain since 1993, when Turning Stone opened, that it would only be a matter of time before the State authorized casinos.  Simply put, the non-Indian community was not going to sit by and allow the Native Americans to have a monopoly on Gaming in the State of New York.

The New York State Comptroller has issued a report concluding that the use of video slots to reverse horse racing's declining popularity does not appear to be helping the tracks, a new audit suggests.

 Audit findings by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, and an accompanying evaluation from outgoing Division of the Lottery Director Gordon Medenica, said that despite the advent of video lottery terminals, handle and attendance at horse races are not rebounding at racino facilities. Lawmakers legalized VLTs in 2001, authorizing them only at tracks.

 But on-track betting totals have continued to drop, DiNapoli's audit said. "In fact, total handle on live racing in New York decreased from $53 million in 2004 to $46 million in 2010, a decrease of 13 percent."

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Tracks-get-no-VLT-boost-3788655.php#ixzz23onUXcRb

Waiting on NYRA

We are all waiting with baited breath to see who gets appointed to the New NYRA Board.  It can't be too political, it can't all be people in the business.  It needs new outside people, it needs politicals and it needs equine industry people.

Just so you all know, I have not received a call from the Governor yet.

Assembly Racing Committee Chairman J. Gary Pretlow, D-Yonkers, said that he and Speaker Sheldon Silver will meet Wednesday to discuss Assembly picks for the new NYRA Reorganization Board that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce by Oct. 1.

Cuomo will name eight people including a chairman to the board. The search is also on for a new chief executive officer and published, but unconfirmed reports, have said McClain — NYRA’s president and chief operating officer — will be replaced, too.

http://saratogian.com/articles/2012/08/14/news/doc502a888e8e032413280963.txt

The Numbers at Saratoga

The New York Racing Association Inc., which operates the Saratoga Springs track, says about 465,000 people have attended 22 days of races so far this summer. That crowd is 2 percent smaller than the 474,000 present through this point in the 2011 meet.

Bets placed at the track totaled $66.1 million, down $500,000 to date, or 0.8 percent to date.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2012/08/14/nyra-saratoga-meet-update.html

So Who Do We Get to Run NYRA?

NYRA

There was a commentary in the Thoroughbred Times this weekend calling for Governor Cuomo to appoint a “cold-hearted” CEO of NYRA.  The author wants the fans to be put first.

There is some real merit to the article, but I think the author wants to take this in the wrong direction.

NYRA has always been run by horse racing people.  People who know and love the business.  I think the flaw in the business model may lie there.  NYRA has a long and storied history of running NYRA, as a business, into the ground, and then screaming for the tax payers to bail it out.

What New York State needs is a cold hearted CEO, who can run NYRA like a business.  With the baskets full of cash coming from the VLT’s this can be done.  NYRA can succeed.  NYRA can be profitable (or at least not lose its’ shorts).   But it is going to have to be run like a business.  There are people in the private sector in the associated fields of gaming and horse racing who have experience doing this.

NYRA should not be run just to make the fans happy.  NYRA should be run to work for all of New York, including the tax payers.  These matters do not have to be mutually exclusive.  A successful business will produce something that their customers will want to spend money on and not run at a loss.

I think it is time that NYRA was run by an Accountant who knows gaming and horse racing.  Someone who will make the hard cuts that others cannot or will not.

Rant over.

Cuomo can install a good, coldhearted CEO at NYRA with marching orders to put fans first. (Not a COO. Not a CFO, but an experienced CEO.) Fans want the modern sports model, so the direction is clear.

 *   *  *

A coldhearted CEO at NYRA can say to the other racing jurisdictions, "We need for Thoroughbred racing to have a strong national presence in all of our major markets to have growing public support and to maximize our off-track wagering."

Where does Cuomo find this individual who is going to change the face of Thoroughbred racing in the media capital of the world?

Once a business plan and preliminary projections are in black and white, I don't think he will have to look very far. You know, if a coldhearted CEO can make it there, they can make it anywhere.

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2012/08/10/pope-commentary.aspx

The Economic Engine of Indian Gaming

I cite below two news reports from California and Oklahoma describing the enormous economic impact of Indian Gaming in those States.  So the Indian Nations in California and Oklahoma have commissioned economic studies to point of to the state political leaders.  This is a lesson that should not to be lost on New York’s political leadership. 

States have a tendency to see Indian gaming enterprises as taking money away from the State and in the best of circumstances as a direct form of revenue generation for the State.  This tends to put the Indian nations and the States in an adversarial position.  However, the larger picture of the economic contribution must not be dismissed.  The message of the California and Oklahoma tribes to their State governments is “Hey, the indirect benefit you will get from us being open way surpasses what you are trying to squeeze out of us directly.”

I am just sayin’.

Indian casinos in California generate $7.5 billion in economic activity every year and have helped to create 52,000 jobs, according to a report released Wednesday.

The study, conducted for the California Nations Indian Gaming Association by research firm Beacon Economics, put the overall income collected by the employees at about $2.7 billion. The study found that of the $7.5 billion in annual economic activity tied to the Indian gaming industry, about $3.5 billion is generated directly from spending at casinos.

http://www.newsmax.com/US/california-indian-casino-profit/2012/08/09/id/448095

http://www.redding.com/news/2012/aug/12/study-shows-indian-gaming-pumps-75-billion-into/

A recent report by Casino City Press, a leading comprehensive annual survey of gaming in the United States, showed that in 2010 alone, gaming across the state had grown to nearly 2.33 percent of Oklahoma's economy. Tribal gaming is the most significant portion of that growth. In fact, of the $210 million in revenue generated from gaming in 2010, $99.8 million came from casinos while the remainder resulted from the Oklahoma lottery and the state's racetracks.

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-indian-gaming-boosts-revenue-creates-jobs/article/3699805#ixzz23RAKpLAZ

Saratoga Casino and Raceway has applied to Kentucky state racing regulators to buy an interest in Ellis Park, a thoroughbred racetrack in Henderson, Kentucky.  The track was designed after the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, and features a 1.125 mile dirt track.

The documents don't indicate how much of an ownership stake Saratoga Casino and Raceway is seeking at Ellis.

But Ellis Park owner Ron Geary has said that he has been seeking a minority partner to invest $3 million to help pay for remodeling a portion of the Henderson thoroughbred track's clubhouse into a casino-style facility and accommodate Instant Racing gambling machines.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/aug/13/new-york-casinoharness-track-seeking-a-stake-in/

Odds and Ends.......

The Cuomo administration threatened Thursday to shift nearly $50 million in state road projects within Seneca Nation territories to other communities unless the tribe quickly drops its demands for "exorbitant'' payments from Albany.

 Worsening relations between the tribe and state was evident in two dueling media events: one called by the head of the state transportation department a few miles outside the tribe's Cattaraugus reservation to deliver the project cancelation threat and one later in the day by Seneca officials to declare the Cuomo administration's actions may be putting motorists at risk.
"We're getting to the breaking point and the state's willing to jeopardize public safety to achieve political purposes," Seneca Nation President Robert Odawi Portersaid

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/albany/article981998.ece

And speaking of the Senecas, Gambling Opponent attorney Neil Murray is keeping his pr and litigation pressure in opposition to the Senecas construction and opening of the permanent casino in Buffalo.

Counsel for the Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County issued a stern reminder yesterday in a letter to the attorney representing the Seneca Nation of Indians with respect to the Tribe's plans announced last Wednesday to proceed with the construction of a $130 million permanent casino in downtown Buffalo despite ongoing litigation in Federal court challenging its legality.

The anti-gambling coalition's attorney, Cornelius D. Murray, noted that the same court had already struck down two previous approvals of such gambling by the National Indian Gaming Commission ("NIGC"). On July 25 the court issued a final briefing schedule before issuing a determination with respect to the NIGC's latest attempt to get around the Court's prior rulings. The Senecas' attorney was in court when the court issued the scheduling order, just one week before the Tribe's announcement on August 1.

"It's remarkable," Murray said, "that the Tribe would presume to move forward as if the Court's decision won't matter one way or the other. Without advising the court of their plans, the Senecas have apparently adopted a 'damn the torpedoes' approach. I can't imagine putting that amount of money at risk before knowing how the judge will rule." Murray added. 

"This project has been on-again, off-again, ever since the Senecas announced a $330 million project with a 22-story hotel and parking garage nearly five years ago. This latest proposal is a significant scale-back, but it still involves over $130 million. "At the very least, the more prudent course for everyone would be to wait and see how Judge Skretny decides," Murray said.

http://www.buffalorising.com/2012/08/dump-trucks-dont-impress-casino-opponents.html

The first week at Saratoga produced some great numbers, but those seem to be slacking off a bit.  However, the genral trend of betting on Saratoga races is up.

While on-track business has been a bit weaker than 2011, total wagering on races at Saratoga Race Course is up 7.6 percent through the first 16 days of this year's meet.

According to NYRA stats, attendance for the first three weeks of the meet ending Monday was 319,806, a 1.9 percent decrease from 325,909 in 2011.

On-track handle totaled $48,208,874, up .7 percent from $47,896,094 last year. Wagering downstate at Belmont Café and the Aqueduct simulcast center was $8,849,611 for a combined NYRA facilities handle of $57,058,485, up 2.2 percent from $55,835,011 in 2011.

The total handle, which includes wagers on Saratoga races both on-track and from simulcast outlets nationwide, was $233,380,247, up 7.6 percent from $216,977,479 last year.
The average betting interests per race for the 16 days were 8.5 (1,411 total) compared to 8.6 (1,372 total) in 2011. There have been 73 turf races and 13 races taken off the turf and moved to the main track, compared to 65 on and 12 off in 2011.

Attendance on track Monday was up eight percent to 15,667, the on-track handle was up 16 percent to $2,471,581 and the all-sources handle was ahead 26 percent to $10,939,600.

http://centralny.ynn.com/content/special_coverage/594339/the-spa-spot--total-handle-up-as-third-week-wraps/

Gamblers wagered a record $1.13 billion at the "racino" at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York City last month, the latest evidence that the popular electronic gambling operation is putting a dent in neighboring states' casino revenues.
The Resorts World Casino New York City in Queens reported to state regulators that the amount gambled and the net revenue for July were at an all-time monthly high since its opening in October. The casino — often called a racino because it overlooks the Aqueduct thoroughbred track — has about 5,000 electronic slots and other games.


http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/record_wagered_at_aqueduct_racino_6up3YlmWizSuyrTSVWMbJM#ixzz22yyg6xyG

The New York Post is reporting that the long-awaited report on the 20 racing-related horse deaths that occurred over Aqueduct’s inner dirt track last winter will be released Tuesday, Aug. 21.

 The New York Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety was formed March 22 in response to a letter sent from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office to the New York Racing Association expressing concern over the rash of fatal breakdowns, which totaled more than twice the national average per 1,000 starts.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/horse_racing/aqueduct_report_on_race_horse_deaths_oTsvnMZ5wriOdOHltshf8M#ixzz22yfcJqyM