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Racinos get behind Cuomo casino plan21 June 2013ALBANY, New York -- New York's racinos have rallied behind Gov. Andrew Cuomo's casino bill, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. Cuomo's final bill had amendments which satisfied the racinos qualms, the report explained. The main bone of contention for the racinos was tax parity, which has been resolved with a provision that if casinos are located nearby tax parity will be afforded to racinos, the Democrat and Chronicle report detailed. The state’s nine racinos Thursday supported Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s casino legislation after he made changes to the bill. The New York Gaming Association, the lobbying arm for the tracks, had opposed Cuomo’s initial bill. They argued that it would have given a huge tax advantage to the four privately owned casinos that Cuomo is seeking to build. The final bill, which was submitted late Monday, gives tax parity to the racinos if casinos are located near their facilities. It was enough to win over the racinos, who would have been a major obstacle for Cuomo as he seeks voter approval for the plan in a November referendum. The Legislature is expected to approve the casino plan Friday. “The New York Gaming Association will throw full support behind the Upstate New York Gaming Economic Development Act and the referendum that will be put to the people in November,” the group’s president, James Featherstonhaugh, said in a statement. “The inclusion of competitive tax parity, a plan that keeps the three Western New York racetrack casinos as vital partners to state and localities, and the assurance that our two successful downstate partners can continue providing good paying jobs and generating significant funding for schools are significant improvements from earlier drafts of this bill and critical to our support.” Because of gaming agreements with the state’s three Indian tribes, four of the state’s nine racinos — including three in western New York — will be ineligible to become full-scaled casinos. But those county governments will share in the state’s piece of revenue from the tribe’s casinos, the bill states. Still, the three racinos in western New York — Buffalo, Batavia Downs and Finger Lakes — will be limited in their marketing and the games they can offer because the Seneca Nation of Indians have exclusive gaming rights in western New York, including the Rochester area. The racinos in the region will not be able to call themselves casinos or market their video-lottery games as “slot machines.” They also can’t add electronic table games. |