Legal gambling’s big winners are the politicians – New York Post

New Yorks 2013 decision to OK more casinos in the state is proving a wise move for politicians. For regular New Yorkers, not so much.

Take the $2 million-a-year Vernon Downs bailout that state lawmakers slipped through at last weeks special session. As The Posts Carl Campanile reported Wednesday, the central New York racinos owner, Jeff Gural, had handed out $400,000 to political committees (roughly half to Gov. Cuomos) over the past seven years.

True, Gural threatened to shut down if he didnt get big tax breaks, and pols promptly took credit for saving the sites 300 jobs.

But the politicians also once insisted casinos and racinos would boost the economy without tax breaks.

Backers of the seven gambling parlors OKd in 2013 vowed theyd gin up fresh tax revenue for the state not split the industrys take into such small pieces theyd need taxpayer bailouts to survive.

Yet Gural says he was fine until three new casinos opened nearby.

In all, 16 casinos and racinos outside the city are fighting over betting dollars, with another set to open next year. Gural whines thats hes losing $170,000 a month at Vernon Downs and complained about how hard it was to finance another property, Tioga Downs.

Sheesh. What did he expect? Casinos are hurting across the country. Atlantic City has seen five close, with 11,000 jobs lost, since 2014. The state had to take over the city to fend off bankruptcy.

But for the politicians, more casinos mean more contributions. And if it means $2 million in state handouts, well, hey its not their money.

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Legal gambling's big winners are the politicians - New York Post