The Casino Dilemma

On December 18, 2012, the Saratoga Springs City Council unanimously passed a resolution which stated that if a referendum on Casino gaming was passed in New or! State, one of the casinos should be located in Saratoga Springs" #s a member of the City Council, $ cast one of the fi%e affirmati%e %otes" &uch has happened since then" During 201', the referendum on Casino (ambling was written and immediately critici)ed for being %ague and non*specific" +ater in the year, there was more criticism when the language was re%ised to put a more positi%e spin on the proposal" #lso earlier in the year, the officers of the Saratoga Casino and ,aceway, which had been operating a casino in our City with gaming limited to -+./s since 2000, announced that they were planning to build a hotel attached to their facility and that they would see! to be chosen for full gaming" .hey also described an e%ent center to be built ad1acent to their hotel" .hey stipulated that the hotel2e%ent*center comple3 would be built whether or not the Saratoga Casino and ,aceway was chosen as the sole casino gaming resort in our eight county district" On No%ember 4, the state*wide referendum on Casino gaming passed" $ was one of the 485 of Saratoga Springs %oters who %oted NO" $ felt that there are better ways of resurrecting the upstate economy than the e3pansion of casino gambling" $ also ob1ected to the %agueness and the propaganda in the referendum itself" 6owe%er, my %ote had little to do with my opinion on whether or not full gaming should come to the Saratoga Casino and ,aceway" .hat is a much more difficult and comple3 issue" .he e3isting Saratoga Casino and ,aceway has a busy -+. parlor that has pro%ided 1obs for hundreds of area residents and %ital support for the ad1acent harness trac!" $n turn, harness racing supports businesses and agriculture in this county as well as ad1oining counties" .he casino has had little impact if any on local crime statistics or fire27&S calls" $t should also be noted that -+. patrons tend not to patroni)e the City/s downtown businesses, restaurants or hotels" .he City of Saratoga Springs is today a twel%e month a year resort destination" .his is the result of years of hard wor! on the part of the public and pri%ate sector" $t is also a safe and comfortable place in which to li%e

and wor!" .he successful downtown is well anchored by a busy meeting and con%ention center with many stores, restaurants and hotels within wal!ing distance" .he City/s well*respected Comprehensi%e 8lan which encourages urban residential uses and discourages sprawl has pro%ided a wor!able blueprint for sustainable growth" 9ith things going so well for our City, we ha%e much to lose with the proposed casino2hotel2e%ent*center on the grounds of the harness trac!" .he e%ent center would be a direct competitor for our downtown City Center" .he hotel with its discounted rates could drain patrons from our City/s downtown hotels" .he stores and restaurants possible in a large Casino comple3 could seriously undermine the fragile profit margins of e3isting City businesses" $ am %ery concerned that the City may ha%e no control or o%ersight o%er what could e%entually be built" # moderate e3pansion of the e3isting casino in order to accommodate full gaming is a reasonable solution" :obs would be sa%ed and the harness trac! could continue to operate" Such a stand alone casino could operate in cooperation with our e3isting downtown businesses, hotels, restaurants and our City Center and would be consistent with our Comprehensi%e 8lan" Such a solution would re;uire that the City ha%e full control o%er de%elopment of Saratoga Casino and ,aceway which would necessitate concessions on the part of the owners of the facility and of New or! State" 9ithout ironclad guarantees of annual income for the City and County, consistency with our Comprehensi%e 8lan, and City Council and +and <se =oard control to limit the Saratoga Casino and ,aceway to a moderately e3panded stand*alone facility, $ can not support their proposal" #t this point in time, it is important that the owners of the Saratoga Casino and ,aceway suspend any plans for the hotel and e%ent center comple3" Chris &athiesen Saratoga Springs Commissioner of 8ublic Safety