Lawmakers may add online poker to state’s gambling options – Plattsburgh Press Republican

ALBANY Has New York hit a saturation point when it comes to venues for gambling?

That question has surfaced at the statehouse where some lawmakers are pushing to legalize online poker.

Meanwhile, Jeff Gural, operator of Vernon Downs racino in Oneida County, says he fears he will have to close his operations and lay off hundreds of workers to stem mounting financial losses.

CASINO EXPANSIONS

The discussion over the state's gaming policy is heating up less than a year after three full-service casinos opened in upstate New York.

They joined nine racinos, including Vernon Downs, as well as 11 venues operated by Native American tribes:Akwesasne Mohawk Casino and Mohawk Bingo Palace and Casino, both in Franklin County, andthe Seneca Nation casinos in Niagara Falls, Irving, Cuba and Salamanca.

Gaming expansion has also happened throughout the Northeast and eastern Canada, a region home to more than three times the number of casinos it hosted in 2002, said Phil Pantano, spokesman for the Seneca Nation.

"Of course there has been an impact on existing properties," Pantano said.

New York's three new non-Indian casinos in Schenectady, the Finger Lakes and Tioga Downs were opened after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2013 that ended a ban on non-Indian gambling halls.

GAMBLING OPTIONS

The menu of options was sweetened last year when lawmakers allowed betting on fantasy sports after a lobbying campaign that included Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Jim Kelly advocating for the special interests plugging the new form of wagering.

Meanwhile, state-regulated lottery games scratch-off tickets, Powerball and Quick Draw have grown steadily since being introduced in 1967.

The state's four thoroughbred race tracks and eight harness tracks have been around even longer.

CLOSURE THREAT

Among those arguing that it's time for state policymakers to hit the brakes on further expansion of gaming is Gary Greenberg, a minority investor in Vernon Downs and long-time follower of the industry.

"There is plenty of gambling already in the state, Greenberg said. We don't need any more."

Gural said Vernon Downs is losing about $150,000 each month. He plans to close the operation, located just several miles from the Turning Stone casino run by the Oneida Indian Nation, unless the Assembly boosts the percentage of revenue from video lottery terminals that the gaming hall can keep.

He said he is prepared to close the track, racino, restaurants and a hotel on the complex.

The chairman of the Assembly Gaming Committee, Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Westchester), said the lower chamber can't agree with Gural's proposal to let Vernon keep more gaming revenue because it would crimp the amount of aid sent to public schools.

But he said he hopes Gural reacts favorably to a counterproposal that would result in a reduction of administrative fees imposed on the facility.

Pretlow also said that while most of the state has not experienced gaming saturation, the congestion of venues running from Oneida County to the Rochester region has hurt the profitability of gaming halls in that vicinity.

The troubles that have befallen Vernon Downs mainly relate to its proximity to the much larger Turning Stone, said Bennett Liebman, who retired from state government in 2014 as Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top adviser on gaming matters.

"Vernon has always been in a difficult position because it is so close to the Oneidas," who run Turning Stone as well as the smaller Yellow Brick Road casino in Chittenango, Liebman said.

Liebman said discerning whether New York is headed for a decline in action at gambling halls because of increasing competition is not easy to fathom.

He said he doesn't take any projections of a gaming glut or market expansion very seriously.

"Nobody really knows what is going to happen," he said.

COMPETITION

Meanwhile, a large casino is scheduled to open next year in Springfield, Mass., about an hour's drive from the Albany region.

Liebman said that venue will likely be a greater threat to two Native American casinos in Connecticut than to the racino in Saratoga or the new casino in Schenectady.

Lee Park, spokesman for the state Gaming Commission, said his agency, given its role as a regulator that does not offer policy opinions, would not weigh in on whether the state has too much gaming.

But he did note: "The Gaming Facility Location Board closely studied the matter and determined that the market can and will support competition among appropriately scoped and appropriately financed gaming operations."

ONLINE POKER

Meanwhile, the proposal that would allow online poker, meanwhile, has gained traction in the Assembly, where it is backed by Pretlow's committee.

The bill, authored by Sen. John Bonacic (R-Orange County), would allow such interactive online games as Texas hold 'em. The senator has said the measure would protect consumers who now play unregulated games, while boosting revenue for state education programs.

If the measure is approved, it could face legal challenges from gambling foes questioning Bonacic's assertion that online poker is a game of skill, not a game of chance.

Email Joe Mahoney:

jmahoney@cnhi.com

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Lawmakers may add online poker to state's gambling options - Plattsburgh Press Republican