Pataki Revives Campaign to Bring Casinos to New York

Raymond Hernandez

Friday, May 15, 1998 | 10:27 a.m.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Gov. George Pataki has revived a controversial campaign to bring casinos to New York state, appealing to legislative leaders in both parties to begin immediately the lengthy process toward a constitutional amendment legalizing casino gambling.

In a letter sent this week, Pataki told the leaders that casino gambling would allow New York to recapture billions of dollars now flowing into other states, and into Canada, where casinos are legal.

He also said that casino gambling would bolster the economies of areas like the Catskills and Niagara Falls, where resort owners and local officials have long seen casinos as a potential source of tax dollars, business development and jobs.

"With each passing year, our state forfeits millions of vacationers and billions of dollars to casino resort areas in Connecticut, Atlantic City, Quebec, Las Vegas, and now Niagara Falls, Ontario," Pataki wrote, adding, "Whatever our feelings about gambling, we can no longer deny that New York sends more gamblers to these resorts than any other state."

Thursday afternoon, state Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno issued a statement saying he was willing to take up an amended casino measure this session. "Personally, I continue to oppose casino gambling but believe the issue should be decided by a statewide public referendum on a constitutional amendment," he said.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver also said he was open to considering casino gambling. But Silver questioned the sincerity of Pataki, who he said had expended little political capital in pushing such a measure through the Senate, where it faced stiff resistance among his allies. That, he said, is why he believes that the letter is an election-year ploy intended to appease upstate voters who form the core of the governor's political base.

The state constitution bans casino gambling. To change that, two consecutively elected Legislatures must pass a resolution calling for a statewide referendum on the issue. If the measure is approved by the current Legislature and again next year by a newly elected Legislature, the issue will go to voters for final approval in November 1999.

Pataki's push for casino gambling comes a little more than a year after a failed attempt to authorize casinos in the Catskills, Buffalo, Niagara Falls and in the Lake George area. That proposal enjoyed wide support in the Assembly, but the governor's fellow Republicans in the Senate overwhelmingly defeated the proposal before it could reach the other chamber.

The governor's aides said Thursday that Pataki believed that there was mounting pressure on the Legislature to act now given the rising complaints from communities across the state that are losing visitors to newly opened casinos, most notably a sprawling, three-story casino in Niagara Falls, Canada.

But Silver said that if Pataki had been genuinely committed to bringing casinos into New York he would not have squandered an opportune chance last year to get the Senate on board. "If the governor believes this is appropriate, he should have weighed in with his Republican colleagues last year and had it approved," he said.

The governor's latest move, first reported in The Buffalo News on Thursday, is likely to reignite a fierce debate that has pitted a broad range of gambling opponents against local officials and business leaders who see casinos as their only hope for restored economic vitality.