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There are more changes in the gambling industry in the US. This time it is the state of New York that is seeing issues to deal with regarding gambling. It has been years now that that state has relied on its state-run lottery to fund various programs. Everything from education to expansion and other public works programs is funded in part or totally by their lotteries. Over the years lotteries have proven to be highly lucrative due to their draws. The state has been happy with its lottery performance and is doing all it can to protect that industry. Now the state legislators are worried that the rise in online gambling could impinge on the funds they rely on to sustain various programs. There are millions of dollars available with lotteries and if people start channeling that into gaming companies rather than the state, this could seriously cut back on the state’s budget. There are few other options that could potentially replace it.

New York legislators have an added concern—neighboring states’ competition. Now that Maryland, Delaware, Maine and Pennsylvania all have their own gambling initiatives in place, this too could cut down on people testing their luck in the lotteries. Add the neighboring state’s competition and online gambling to the mix, and it could spell disaster for the state. So what are they going to do? There is no official plan on what to do, but state officials are bracing for some dip in revenue when it comes to their lotteries. They are hoping that dip will be swift and will return to normal quickly, but if it doesn’t there is no current contingency plan to speak of. Lotteries traditionally have been highly lucrative, but now that competition is entering the market left and right, state legislators are not so sure that it will be able to sustain itself over the long term. Only time will tell if it is going to be alright and if people are going to continue to take their chances at the state-run lottery. If not, it could pose a serious problem for the state to deal with and they may have to increase their own land based and online gambling plans to supplement.

Atlantic City may have more problems on its hands coming in the next few months. It is no secret that since the recession the New Jersey gambling hot spot has not gained back the momentum it had pre-recession. People stopped wagering all over the world when the financial state of the economy was at its worst. This was logical and experts predicted that they would not return to the gaming tables until some clear signs of a revival of the market were seen. Slowly people did start to see change and very slowly they began wagering again, but not in the same numbers they were before. Another repercussion of the recession too was that people were no longer interested in high-dollar wagering. Most people resigned themselves to paying the low pay or free play games that a casino offered. In New Jersey though, things were even worse. No one returned to Atlantic City once the recession was declared officially “over.” The city of gambling remained untouched in a lot of ways. Casino operators tried creating new specials and promotions to bring gamers in, but so far nothing has worked to restore it to its former days of glory. In fact, the city has already had to cut jobs in mass numbers twice. If things don’t turn around soon, they could have to do it again.

Now Atlantic City officials are worried about the expansion of gambling in other states. New York is the latest state to push for an increase in wagering. The state sees how lucrative gambling is and wants to capitalize on the numbers soon. It is the Stockbridge-Munsee tribal community that wants to bring their own version of casino gambling near the state and if the deal is approved, it would change the area market completely. So far they already have the approval of Governor Patterson but are awaiting federal approval to move forward with the deal. If they are allowed to build a new casino, Atlantic City may have some stiff competition. A new casino is never good news for existing casinos and it could give New Jersey a run for its money.

Once again gambling is taking a front seat in a political run. New York’s Republican candidate Carl Paladino is holding gambling as one of his main focuses when it comes to the coming election. It isn’t new to anyone that gambling is a huge political tool. You can scan the most pertinent information in the market and easily find out how big dollar gambling is a huge attention grabber. Not only are politicians drawing up lines on the issue, but voters are making their own decisions too. They know that casinos mean big dollars and those dollars can be fueled into their economies to aid in them turning things around. In addition, voters know that big dollars mean jobs too. If anything can contend with money, it is jobs. The American public has long been having problems finding jobs since the recession. Millions of people lost their jobs and have been scrambling to find new ones since. It has been a recurring problem with Americans who are ready to get back to their old lives, but still are in the unemployment lines.

Right now Paladino is pushing his agenda to the state by citing a revamped contract with the Oneida tribal leaders. The tribe currently runs Turning Stone Casino and Paladino is questioning the amount of revenue that the casino is bringing in. He wants to rework the contract and maximize the amount of money accessible to the state. His next move is to close down roads that lead to the tribe’s casino if they refuse to start negotiations. The tribe thus far has a two-week window to respond to the politicians call for negotiation. Unfortunately due to the situation, the tribe has few other options than to negotiate right now. Their numbers are already down thanks to the recession. Like other casinos in the country, the Turning Stone Casino has been losing revenue due to lack of customers for some time now. Without a reinvigorated market, they have few options than to hope a new contract will help them to bring in more revenues. In coming months expect the gambling issue to be the center of the issue for politicians in all states—especially New York.

Albany, New York is the latest location in the US having problem with regulating online gambling. Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino said that if he wins the position, he will surely close down Turning Stone Casino. The only way he will consider keeping it open is if the tribe that owns it, Oneida, agrees to provide more of its revenue dollars to the state. He also stated that he would give the casino operators two weeks to formalize a plan that better serves New York. If they cannot come up with one in the allotted time, he is prepared to shut down the roads that give gamers access to the casino. This is just one more example of how casinos are turning state legislators around. Here it’s funding that is the big question. Paladino has been clear that he believes the casino does not benefit the state enough for it to keep running.

The tribe is not taking this bad news laying down though. The Oneida Tribal council has already stated that if the roads that access their casino are shut down, they will answer with a lawsuit that cites a federal law allowing them to operate the casino. The law came into play back in 2007 and is a solid compact with the tribe and the US government. They also noted that their casino currently brings 10,000 jobs to the market and brings in revenues of well over $425-million per year. The tribe is going even further by saying that the threat by Paladino is proof that he is an unfit candidate for the position of governor of the state. Only time will tell where the issue goes, but most likely the casino will not be shut down or blocked. Despite Paladino’s claims, the casino offers a huge monetary benefit to the state already. Plus giving jobs to the market is another asset it has on its side. In coming months the state will find out what needs to be done, but until then the Oneida Nation will continue to operate and bring great gaming, jobs and funds to the New York economy.

If you need any more proof that gambling has taken over, then look at Ohio and New York. Both states are taking on casino gambling with the building of some new facilities for their gaming needs. Although New York has casinos already, legislators and organizers are still looking to continue developing it in the market. Aqueduct is the location now that holds races and it is looking to expand to bring slots gambling into the casino floor. The facility is hoping that slots will help to bring more customers into the location and research is showing that this is what may happen. Thousands of New Yorkers were polled and said that they would visit Aqueduct once slot machines are coming into the facility. It is Genting Group, a Malaysian Company that is taking on the task of adding slot machines to Aqueduct.

Part of the problem with revamping Aqueduct was that the state had to find the right developer to convert the race track to a racino. Because of the finalization of the plan, now the state of Ohio is also looking to follow in the same direction of bringing gambling to the revenue stream. Ohio just came up with a similar plan to implement their gambling initiatives. Now it is Harrah’s Entertainment that is going to direct the casinos operating in both Cleveland and Cincinnati. These are two premiere locations that are set to operate within the state. They are part of the four main casino locations that are eventually going to be up and running in the state. Harrah’s will be working along with Rock Gaming to operate the two casinos. Rock Gaming of course is a subsidiary of the huge company Rock Ventures. It is also tied to the Cleveland Cavaliers, whose owner is now part owner of the casinos at both locations. The best thing about Harrah’s Entertainment is that it comes equipped with a long line of successful gaming implementation and knows full well how to manage a new casino in a new area. The expertise of the companies organizers will surely benefit gambling and the state of Ohio.

The state of New York has long wanted slots operating within its borders. It was over nine years ago that legislators approved the move and wanted to bring in slots as a means of generating extra cash. Though it sounded like a great idea, New Yorkers have had a difficult time in finding a developer to bring in the casinos needed. That has changed though. Malaysian-operating company Genting made a big and won the right to develop the casino in New York. The casino is scheduled to house a full gaming floor, slots parlor and a racetrack at the Aqueduct location in the state.

Prior to Genting’s entry into the bidding war, there were still a wide range of companies who voiced a desire to handle the project. The problem was that they didn’t have the funding or the expertise needed to bring the plan to fruition. It took some time find the right development company and now Genting is scheduled to reap the benefits of their hard work. So far Genting has proposed to the New York Lottery Officials that they can begin construction within the next few weeks and the project will be complete within the next six to nine months. It will have an addition of 1,500 slot machines for operations at the racing location. Aqueduct will be one of the biggest racinos in the country—that is a combination of race track and slots parlor. It is the newest wave in the world of gambling. Over the past few years race tracks have suffered greatly from lack of customers and slot machines are looked at as a means of revitalizing gaming and bringing in new customers. Many residents in New York have been waiting patiently for the casino to come to their area and have voice their opinion stating that they will be frequenting the casino once it is open. The revenue brought in by Aqueduct will be put towards aiding other race tracks within the state to maintain their own budgets and grow until they are solid financially themselves. It could take some time, but with the amount of people who are anticipating the new addition, it may not be as long as anyone thinks.

OTB operators are now looking for a new way to keep their businesses alive. Just like other gambling games, off-track betting has suffered in the past year and a half of a downturned economy. People stopped spending mid-recession and have yet to return to their old spending habits. That means that everything from retail outlets to restaurants and movie theaters to OTB locations have all suffered greatly. They have lost millions of dollars in revenue that normally would have kept them in the black on the books. Now that the recession’s effects are still being felt, OTB locations are having problems remaining relevant financially.

In New York City, OTB operators are getting resourceful. Planners are hoping to push for bringing their businesses into the city’s bars and pubs. The plan is to have OTB at the various locations throughout the city and bring in more money due to “kiosks” being set up in each facility. It would allow customers the ability to sit at the kiosks and partake in OTB right from the comfort of their favorite bar or pub. Not only would they be able to hang out at their normal place on a Friday night, but they also can have a little extra fun with some high-energy gambling at a kiosk. As an added incentive, OTB operators are apportioning out $2,500 for each bar or pub willing to install the kiosks for their patrons. The joint venture is hoped to bring in money for OTB locations and for the bars that host them. In a time when money is hard to come by, OTB operators are hoping that the New York City bars and pubs will jump at the chance—in particular because of the $2,500 incentive. It won’t costs bars a thing to take a chance and see if more people come in. More people coming into the bars, means more revenue. More revenue means a faster turnaround after a difficult economic downturn.

OTB operators are desperate to stay in business. They are hoping the new idea of remote kiosks will help save their businesses and bring in new revenue. Now that bars and pubs share the same concern, this affiliation may prove lucrative for both business entities. It will take time to implement, but it just may be what the market needs to turn OTB around in the state.

Three restaurant-owner associations sued the New York state liquor board, alleging that the board illegally granted alcohol permits to Indian-owned Turning Stone Casino and Resort. The associations requested that the state demand the Liquor Authority is banned from issuing any additional permits to the casino. David Vickers, lawyer for the restaurant owner associations said, “If the liquor authority thinks it’s OK for alcohol to be present at Turning Stone 24/7/365, then why deny them a liquor license? Why not grant them a license and gain some oversight?” Vickers is representing the groups from Madison, Oneida and Herkimer counties.

The Liquor Authority of New York has continuously denied licensing the resort but has issued thousands of temporary permits for The Beeches Restaurant of Rome to serve alcoholic drinks at Turning Stone’s nightclub, lounge and multiple casino-owned restaurants.  The resort qualified for the catering permits by altering its restaurants and calling them “private clubs.” This gives them a status that is conducive to liquor permits. Though The Beeches must apply daily for the alcohol catering permits, it is a way to avoid getting an actual license to serve.

The restaurant-owners association is claiming that the restaurants and lounges in actuality do not meet the legal definition of a “club.” Vickers stated, “Calling something an event that is really an ongoing practice is really an abuse of the law.”  Vickers is drawing a distinction between ongoing events that are “normally performed” and individual events such as weddings or conventions. He believes the later would fall under the liquor permit definition, but the consistent everyday normal activity wouldn’t.  The lawsuit names the Liquor Authority. The Turning Stone American Culinary Federation Inc, and The Beeches as defendants in the case. The hearing is scheduled for December 16^th.

Critics of the lawsuit are calling it “frivolous.” Namely the Oneida Nation is questioning the intentions of the restaurant-owner associations involved. They are wondering why this issue is being brought up after years of operating this way. They believe that the true issue is a personal one. The Beeches is owned by Christopher Destito, the husband of Democratic state Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito.