Casinos Get Mixed Results from NY, MA Voters

ALBANY-Empire State voters have approved building up to seven full-scale casinos upstate, casting their ballots in favor of a constitutional amendment to expand gaming. In neighboring Massachusetts, where voters statewide passed a similar measure two years ago, two of the three proposals up for a vote by local residents were shot down.

“This passage will help pave the way for the creation of new jobs, construction and increased tourism in communities across the state,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday in Binghamton, which he visited to tout the gaming amendment's benefits. Among them is an estimated $430 million available statewide to fund schools, property tax relief and local governments.

Under the amendment passed by voters, initially there will be up to four upstate destination gaming resorts, the locations of which will be restricted to three regions of the state: the Hudson Valley–Catskill area, the Capital District-Saratoga area and the Eastern-Southern Tier. One region may have up to two casinos if determined by the state siting board. No destination gaming resorts can be authorized in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, New York City, Long Island or Indian exclusivity zones, and there will be a seven-year exclusivity period during which no further destination gaming resorts will be licensed by the state.

Following a defeat by voters in East Boston, MA on Tuesday, backers of the proposed Suffolk Downs casino in eastern Massachusetts told the Boston Globe they're looking at moving the project to the Revere side of the city line. The project, which straddled East Boston and Revere, was approved by voters in Revere even as it was rejected by those in East Boston.

“Fifty-three acres of the property are in Revere,” Dan Rizzo, mayor of Revere, told the Globe. “If there is a way to reshape the project so it fits entirely in Revere, we're going to pursue it.”

In western Massachusetts, a Mohegan Sun proposal to build a casino resort in Palmer was defeated by a margin of fewer than 100 votes. Mohegan Sun plans to seek a recount, according to published reports.

That leaves an MGM Resorts proposal for another casino resort in western Massachusetts, to be built in Springfield. The plan comes up for a vote on Nov. 19, and Michael Mathis, VP of global gaming development at MGM, told the Republican newspaper his company is taking nothing for granted.

“We were obviously an interested observer last night in the results,” Mathis was quoted as saying. “But whether it's a five-operator race or a one-operator race, we remain focused on our project, which is two years in the making.”

This past September, voters in West Springfield rejected a proposal by Hard Rock International. The law legalizing casino gaming in the Bay State limits casino licenses to one in each of three regions: eastern Massachusetts, including Boston; western Massachusetts; and southeastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod.