CASINOS WILL BRING MISERY, CORRUPTION
ROBERT J. SCHULMAN, January 25, 2004The News editorials about the Seneca Niagara Casino continue to plead the case of hope for its "success." However, a recent News article on bankruptcy shows that Seneca Niagara Gaming's success is at the community's expense. The family and personal deficits that gambling causes are reflected in the state sponsorship of gambling and in its budget deficit. Every state with unlimited gambling has ended up with a deficit. New York's is $6 billion. Our citizens just lost billions more at the casino. Sure, $150 million went into the regional economy and $38 million went to the state, but $3.8 billion went to the Senecas and their investors. Did one dollar go to treatment or prevention of gambling addiction? No!
All we'll be seeing for a long time is more tax-free, sovereign nation parking, hotels and entertainment, mostly for local gamblers. They will sink their money into gambling, and what will other citizens get? More deficits, addiction, bankruptcy and losses to our community, families and children.
How can another casino anywhere in Erie County be justified? No economic or moral measure can support it! Nor can our citizens tolerate the misery and corruption it will bring.
NEWS SPECIAL FROM GAMBLING REP DISTORTS TRUTH
JOHN BARTLEY, Buffalo, November, 2003A recent "special to the News" by Natalie Hemlock of the Seneca Gaming Corporation (11/02) contains numerous inaccuracies, and fails to make a case for gambling expansion in the Niagara Frontier.
After speaking glowingly of the desire for honest dialogue, Hemlock proceeds to distort the views of casino-opponent Wes Johnson. Mr. Johnson is mayor of Ledyard, CT, the host town of the giant Foxwoods casino-resort. In his remarks at an October forum, he described how Foxwoods has hurt the town: The quality of life is degraded. Costs for roads, more police, parking, and addiction-treatment, etc., are much higher than the revenue share Ledyard receives under the deal worked out. Meanwhile, there is no economic spinoff for Ledyard, because all secondary revenue (such as entertainment, dining, etc.) is self-contained in the casino complex.
Painting Mr. Johnson as anti-job, Hemlock asks whether he would want to return to the pre-casino unemployment rate of ten percent. This statistic turns out to be fiction: in the two years before the opening of Foxwoods, Ledyard’s unemployment rate never got as high as 6 percent, and rarely rose above 5 percent, -- about where it is now.
What Hemlock doesn't mention is that in urban areas casinos take away more jobs than they create. Because they are designed to keep patrons in, casinos siphon off income that would otherwise be spent in neighboring businesses.
According to gambling expert John Kindt, "The field research indicates that nationwide you stand to lose 1.5 jobs for every job the casinos create." In municipalities, the figure is closer to 2.75 jobs lost for every job created.
In Atlantic City, for example, the number of small businesses declined from 2100 to 150 after the casinos opened. And Detroit has lost 100,000 jobs since 1999, when casinos were introduced there.
Casinos are set up to provide revenue streams to the State, and to the high-interest investors. In doing so they entice money out of the pockets of the poor and vulnerable. An estimated 11.4 percent of Detroit residents view themselves as "lifetime compulsive gamblers," according to a new survey by Michigan's Community Health Department.
The honor of the Seneca Nation is not the same as the honor of the Seneca Gaming Corporation. The illegalities of the pact, as well as ties to organized crime, are not even mentioned by Hemlock.
In the end, proliferation of casino gambling must be seen as a symptom of economic malaise, not a cure. That's why Maine voters defeated gambling in their state. Why didn't New Yorkers get a voice in this issue?
POLITICIANS SUBVERTED DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
KENYON RICHES, East Amherst, September 22, 2003Several years ago, there was a referendum asking voters whether they wanted casino gambling in New York State. The voters said "no!" There has been no further vote on the subject because the voters would again reject the idea. Our state politicians have conspired with a foreign nation - the Seneca Indians - to defeat the will of the people who elected them by circumventing the referendum and allowing the sale of property to the Senecas in the midst of those people who voted "no." It's not like the property is a foreign embassy, and therefore the property of another nation. These properties are being considered for entertainment palaces, with policies that defy the local laws. When politicians conspire to this subversion of our democratic process, they should be removed from office.
PALADINO ARGUMENTS WEAK
JOHN BARTLEY, Buffalo , September 2, 2003
Carl Paladino's letter to The News promotes downtown Buffalo as the best location for a casino. His arguments to support this theory are weak, and actually raise serious doubts about putting a casino anywhere in Erie County. For example, he stated that a casino "outside the downtown core" would "repeat mistakes made in Atlantic City (and) Detroit." In actuality, Detroit has three casinos right smack in its downtown core. Atlantic City's casinos also are located downtown. Casino gambling has not helped the economies of Atlantic City or Detroit. Since 1999, Metro Detroit has lost 100,000 jobs.
On another point, Paladino inaccurately stated that the local share of casino revenue is a "minimum" of 25 percent of the state's share. Under the terms of the compact, the state is not required to give up any of its share to local municipalities. The minimum is zero.
The claim of 2,500 "good-paying jobs" cannot be corroborated, because the actual number of jobs in various pay brackets is held in secrecy by the Seneca gambling corporation. We do know that it includes many low-level cleaning, security and maintenance positions that pay low wages and discourage workers from union representation.
I do agree with Paladino on two points. First: Our leaders have the power to oppose the placement of a casino. They should oppose a casino anywhere in Erie County. Second: "Greed and self-interest must be put aside." I certainly hope Paladino and his fellow developers will do so.
COMMUNITY WON'T BENEFIT FROM CASINO
ROBERT J. SCHULMAN, M.D., August 30, 2003In their recent letters, Paul Snyder and Carl Paladino enormously inflated the benefit of a casino and ignored its negative impact on our community. The 2,000 so-called good-paying jobs estimated last year climbed to 2,500 for Paladino and to 3,500 for Snyder. Such misinformation on behalf of the well-positioned pro-casino developers is insulting. Can anyone believe Snyder's prediction of 5 million tourists coming to a Buffalo casino? The real economic benefits of a gambling resort on sovereign Seneca territory anywhere in the county would be scant to nil.
Connecticut, with two huge casinos, struck a casino deal for about $400 million. A July 4 article in the Hartford Courant pointed out the real costs to the state. A multiyear study concluded "that every dollar of casino gambling revenue costs states $3 to $7 in criminal justice, social welfare and other expenses. Applying simple arithmetic, Connecticut taxpayers pay anywhere from $1.2 billion to $2.8 billion to generate $400 million of revenue."
Now, estimate a $9 million slot machine cut equaling $27 million to $63 million in losses to Buffalo or Erie County and play that hand with the control board. This is not a win-win proposition for anyone except the Seneca Nation, developers, gambling machine manufacturers and probable out-of-state or foreign backers.
The loss of spending money and the social harm to families and children dispel the myths of the benefits of a casino. Our underfunded Gambling Recovery Program, the only local treatment source, has been overwhelmed with new requests for gambling addiction treatment this year.
Detroit, Atlantic City, Louisiana, New Mexico, etc., show the mistakes our government is about to make. It's not too late to listen to the citizens who have spoken, rallied, signed thousands of petitions and written to legislators and The News. There is more citizen opposition than favor for this troubling, corrupting casino to be.
WATERFRONT CASINO YET ANOTHER MISTAKE
LEO MOSER, Tonawanda, August 11, 2003It seems our "leaders" are intent on adding to the litany of blunders made by their predecessors: UB campus in Amherst, Bills stadium in Orchard Park, Skyway, Niagara Thruway, etc. Now they are suggesting a casino on prime lakefront property. Will they ever learn?
For years we have heard talk of waterfront access for the public. Apparently, it was just talk, which is the sole talent of these people.
CASINO GAMBLING WILL HARM ERIE COUNTY
ELAINE M. REINHARDT to the News, August 10, 2003What price are we willing to pay for entertainment? If New York state law is circumvented and a gambling casino is opened in Erie County it will be with us forever, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Harmful side effects to the family and community will also be forever. A local group, Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County, is an organization of community and religious people that needs your help to stop this from happening.
For those concerned, it is urgent that action is taken. Those interested should visit the CACGEC web site, nocasinoerie.org
THE NEWS LAMENTS A CASINO
BUFFALO NEWS EDITORIAL, June 7, 2003WE DON'T WANT TOO MUCH AUTHENTICITY: We've never liked the idea of a Buffalo casino, but we're at least historically intrigued by a proposal by the Seneca Nation to put a gambling den in the old Memorial Auditorium. We've been wondering for a while how city, state and county planners were going to combine Mayor Masiello's hopes for a family recreation zone on the waterfront with the push for historic authenticity in a canal red-light district that was so rough and vice-ridden it was once nationally described as "the very nostrils of hell." Now we know. We just hope they hold the line at gambling.
DECISION TO RULE OUT STATLER TOWERS FOR CASINO MAKES SENSE
BUFFALO NEWS EDITORIAL, June 4, 2003The Seneca Nation has decided not to put a Buffalo casino in the Statler Towers building on Delaware Avenue.
A casino in the Statler Towers? There are enough gamblers inside City Hall without setting up slot machines on the other side of Niagara Square. For that reason, among others - including our serious doubts about the wisdom of putting a casino in Buffalo at all - the decision by the Seneca Nation to rule out the Delaware Avenue office building as a potential site for Western New York's next gambling hall is welcome news.
Seneca President Rickey Armstrong Sr. announced the decision the other day, saying "the Statler is definitely off the table." Among the reasons was an obvious lack of parking for the crowds a casino would be likely to draw. Not specifically mentioned, but clearly related, is the traffic congestion a downtown casino would generate - especially one without sufficient parking space.
This page has always been skeptical about plunking a casino in downtown Buffalo, like so many poker chips. The amount of money guaranteed to the city - around 6.25 percent of the slot machine take - is insufficient compensation for the likely downsides to legalized gambling in a nontourist location. In addition to traffic and parking hassles, those drawbacks include increases in crime and compulsive gambling in one of the nation's poorest cities.
What is more, a second casino would surely detract from the one already operating in Niagara Falls, where that kind of entertainment not only makes sense, but was probably essential, given the magnetic pull the casino in Niagara Falls, Ont., has exerted on American dollars. Given that the whole Western New York economy is inextricably linked to redeveloping Niagara Falls, N.Y., as a tourist destination, plans to place a competing casino in Buffalo are counterproductive.
Nevertheless, that is the unfortunate state of affairs for Buffalo, which is to have a casino whether it makes sense or not. Whether it wants it or not. The compact signed with the state gives the Senecas the right to build a casino here.
Meanwhile, there's no guarantee that planners won't come up with an even worse spot - has anyone thought of actually putting it inside City Hall? - but at least the Statler is out.
THE UGLY SIDE OF GAMBLING
David F. D'Alessandro, - the Boston Globe, April 15, 2003AFTER I recently bought my 20-year-old son a car, he asked, ''Dad, what kind of car did your father buy you?''
I had not thought about it for 30 years, but I replied, ''My dad didn't buy me a car, son. He stole my car.''
My dad was a gambling addict, and he needed to pay loan sharks threatening his well-being. In desperation, he took my $800 car, forged my registration, and sold it.
For a year, I took a city bus to college until I could earn enough money to buy another car.
I wish this were an isolated incident. It was not. Whether pilfering our college loan proceeds, borrowing from our friends and relatives and not repaying, or hiding under the bed when the loan-shark collectors or the FBI came calling, my father left a trail of deceit, pain, and betrayal.
I loved my father and still do. He was brilliant, a Phi Beta Kappa with an IQ of 165. He was also hard working. He not only taught school, he ran the family grocery store.
From the age of 35 until his death at 68, he gambled almost every day. He wagered with his money, with our family's money, and with money we did not have -- friends' money, bank money, and loan-shark money. He lost his job, his freedom (jailed for forging checks), and his wife. We lost our grocery store, our apartment, our friends, and our dignity.
While, like most kids, I played Little League, attended public school, and went to church, there were many surreal moments. During one Sunday afternoon drive, when I was 8, I watched as Dad was pulled over by two ''collectors.'' They yanked him out of the car, threw him on the hood, and slit his shirt from navel to neck to ''frighten'' him into paying his debts.
He gambled away our student loans. As a result, my brother and I were unable to pay our college tuition. So, my father would take us to the racetrack just before college registration. With the military draft more intense than at any time since World War II and nonstudents draftable, my brother and I would find ourselves cheering for Thunder Cloud in the sixth race.
It was either Thunder Cloud and another semester -- or a different horse and the jungles of Vietnam. The draft would always be there after college. Gambling has its ugly side, and I can vouch for it. The capitalists promoting gambling fail to mention stories like mine -- even as they hire virtually every lobbyist and PR firm and pretender available.
They speak of easy money for local governments. But they fail to hint at the millions of people who are already gambling addicts and millions who will become addicts as this nation turns itself into a giant casino.
Gambling addiction is little different from alcohol or drug dependence. It does not filter the smart from the dumb, the young from the old. Its major difference is the recruitment tools are not the local tavern or nightclub.
Gambling sings its ''Siren song'' with:
* Slot machines for the widow who nickel by nickel, hour by hour, loses her dead husband's pension stipend by mid-month. * Craps tables for the carpenter who loses his Friday paycheck while the kids anxiously wait in the car, late for baseball practice. * Sports book rooms with 60 televised sporting events for the 18-year-old who has to bet every day or doesn't feel ''fulfilled.''
Gambling builds its army of slaves one by one. The addiction has no heart or conscience. It does not care about mortgages, child support, food, clothing, utility bills or any obligation or promises. Like a shark, it only cares about being fed.
Bring gambling close to large populations, make it accessible by public transportation, and we will reap what we sow. In a society that already has an alarming divorce rate, more gambling only means more deteriorating families.
And gambling is hardest on the families of lower-income earners, the people with hope but fewer options. Ultimately, legalized gambling is a tax on the poor -- because if the people who become addicted to it aren't poor now, daily access to gambling will make them so.
I am now fortunate to be the CEO of a major company and wealthy by most standards. People who hear about my background often say, ''Wasn't it great to grow up the way you did? It has taught you many life lessons and made you successful.''
I would have given up those lessons and even some of the success in exchange for a less painful childhood.
Supposedly, as a political issue, increased access to gambling is all about new revenue. If it really is about revenues, then tax me instead.
Please tax me -- not them, the addicts-to-be -- because it is their children who will pay the ultimate price.
David F. D'Alessandro is chairman and CEO of John Hancock Financial Services Inc. This story ran on page A17 of the Boston Globe on 4/15/2003. Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
LOSS OF TAX REVENUE SHOULD CONCERN US
Jeffery Termini - Buffalo News, January 9, 2003Much of the debate lately surrounding the venture of a Native American casino in Buffalo's downtown business district has not addressed the significant loss of tax revenue. Once the Seneca Nation acquires land, that land not only becomes its property, it is annexed as part of its sovereign nation.
The Senecas would not be liable for city or county property taxes, nor would their employees be required to pay income tax on either the state or federal level. Lastly, any product or service sold on Seneca land would not be subject to any sales tax.
This all amounts to a phenomenal loss of tax revenue, of which the taxpayers will undoubtedly bear the burden. There also will be irreparable damage done to businesses when merchants experience a dip in sales. The end result, of course, will be empty storefronts. This would in turn lead to insurmountable tax losses.
I sincerely doubt that the measly 6 percent of revenue promised to the city will even make a dent in the loss of taxes, much less boost the city's economy, especially when it is uncertain if this venture will be successful.
Another concern is that because the Senecas enjoy sovereign status, the state would be powerless in dealing with them. If a non-native was charged with a criminal offense or suffered damages, how would criminal and civil procedures be dealt with?
These are only two issues that ought to be of concern to the general public. There are numerous others of equal importance.
However, the governor, the State Legislature and city officials - with the exception of a few voices of dissent - never even bothered to consult the voting public, to which they are accountable, to see if we indeed desire a casino in our community.
JEFFERY L. TERMINI
Tonawanda
NOT THE SILVER BULLET FOR BUFFALO
Walter and Nan Simpson, January 1, 2003 4 Meadowstream CT
Amherst, NY 14226
To: Mayor Tony Masiello
County Executive Joel Giambra
Governor George Pataki
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Hillary Clinton
Congressman Tom Reynolds
State Senator Mary Lou Rath
State Assemblyman James Hayes
County Legislator Elise M. Cusack
From: Walter and Nan Simpson
Re: Opposition to Casino in Buffalo
Date: January 1, 2003
We recently attended a debate on the proposed casino for Buffalo and would like to share with you the reasons we oppose this project, why we believe the economic, social and human costs are too great:
1. We agree with State Senator Sam Hoyt that a Buffalo casino is likely to damage the local economy. Most of those who use a Buffalo casino will be Western New Yorkers. They will spend local dollars and most of those dollars will leave the area. The casino will be a drain hole for local dollars. Money spent at the casino will not be spent elsewhere in the local entertainment economy. The end result will be a net loss of local jobs and businesses. This is exactly the opposite of what we need.
2. The share of casino revenues targeted for Buffalo is very small, not worth the risks.
3. The idea of turning over a piece of downtown Buffalo to the Seneca Nation in perpetuity is, on its face, crazy. Is any one thinking rationally of the long-term implications trading away prime downtown real estate to a tax-free, sovereign, foreign nation?
4. We are also very much concerned about the impact of this proposed casino on impoverished individuals and families in Buffalo. At the debate we attended we learned about the millions of dollars which now leave inner city neighborhoods as a result of lotto and the lottery. When one considers the extent of poverty in the City of Buffalo (and the deteriorated condition of neighborhoods and local businesses), it seems nothing less than criminal to increase gambling opportunities with a casino and exacerbate these gambling losses. It makes no sense to roll out the red carpet for an establishment which will impoverish local residents and neighborhoods and probably increase the frequency of divorce, alcoholism, spousal abuse, and crime.
5. Having once walked through the casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario, we know there is nothing joyous or morally uplifting about these establishments - despite all the advertising and media hype. Casinos prey on addictive behavior and are depressing.
We keep looking for the silver bullet to fix Buffalo. But this is not it. This is a scheme to enrich certain parties at the expense of the city and the region. We strongly urge our community leaders and representatives to publicly oppose this casino.
c.c. Buffalo News Common Council Member Betty Jean Grant
Assemblyman Sam Hoyt
Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County
BUFFALO NEWS SMEARS LAFALCE
John and Mary Bartley - to the Buffalo News, November 16, 2002The News criticizes U.S. Congressman John LaFalce for requesting an investigation into the Dept. of the Interior's highly questionable approval of the Seneca compact. This is interesting, since facts reported by the News were cited in Mr. LaFalce's request for an investigation.
Many Erie County residents do not want a casino in Buffalo, because it spells disaster. The development of gambling in depressed urban areas, such as Detroit and Atlantic City, has resulted in net job loss as well as increased social malaise. The Pataki plan will do irreparable damage to the businesses, economy, and quality of life in Buffalo.
Pataki, through a series of dubious legal maneuvers, did an end run around the State Constitution - which expressly forbids Class III gambling - with a compact that:
1) Creates Seneca reservations in Downtown Buffalo and Niagara Falls
2) Allows (but does not require) the Senecas to establish casinos.
3) Puts no restrictions on the activities allowed on these new reservations, which means that tax-free businesses - hotels, shops, gas stations, convenience stores - can be established, with or without a casino. These businesses, by virtue of their tax-free status, will compete unfairly with local businesses.
One last point: Is it possible that the News, which supports a casino in Niagara Falls, but is "ambivalent" about one in Buffalo, is unaware that this compact irrevocably tethers Buffalo and Niagara Falls together in the same fate? The bottom line is, if the compact survives legal challenges, then a Seneca casino in Niagara Falls allows one in Buffalo, regardless of what the public wants.
If Casino gambling is such a good deal for Niagara Falls, why not do it legally, by amending the State Constitution to allow Class III gambling? Then let the citizens of each community determine if such a scheme is right for them.
Thank God that Congressman LaFalce has the courage to stand up for us through the bitter end of his term in office. And, yes, we think principles are very appropriate when fighting political demagoguery. We applaud his determination in representing public opposition to the biggest outrage ever perpetrated in our community.
Sincerely,
John and Mary Bartley
Buffalo, NY
INDIAN CASINO EXPERIENCE SOURS MAYOR
Don Esmonde - Buffalo News, October 2, 2002Knowing what he knows now, if he were mayor of Buffalo, he would not be happy about this.
If he were mayor, and George Pataki said a Seneca-owned casino is coming to downtown Buffalo, Wes Johnson would not have said "Thank you."
Wes Johnson would have said, "What have you done to me?"
Johnson is mayor of Ledyard, Conn., a town of 15,000 that borders Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, the country's two largest casinos. They're run by the Pequots, and they have been very good for the tribe.
They have not, said Johnson, been so good for non-Indians.
Johnson, in town for an anti-casino forum, is a portly fellow with gray hair and beard. Picture Kris Kringle in a pinstriped suit. He came not bearing gifts, but warnings about a sovereign nation in the middle of downtown.
Granted, there's a difference between a rural town and our downtown, which may be where a Seneca casino goes - if it comes. And there's a difference between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, where a tourist-starved populace hungers to open a gambling den by the new year.
But Johnson said the casino did his town more harm than good. He's not alone. Connecticut's governor and both U.S. senators don't want any more Indian casinos, even though the state gets $336 million of the annual take. People don't want the extra roads, noise, traffic and police. They don't like having no say in what happens.
Johnson suspects the same would be true for Buffalo.
It goes beyond the usual - moral concerns, our cut (6 percent) is too small, the gamblers will be mostly locals instead of outsiders bringing new money.
The biggest problem is we'll have no say about what happens in the heart of downtown.
The Senecas can take the land and, if they want, build something other than a casino. Or they can build a casino and, if the tribe has a change of heart, close it. They can undercut the locals and - like at Mohegan Sun - sell tax-free smokes and gas, or open retail stores.
It means Senecas can take surrounding land for untaxed housing and send their kids to public schools on the taxpayers' dime. It means they can open a theater, as at Mohegan Sun, and take bookings from local clubs and arenas. It means they rake it in while we pay for new roads, more police, more parking. It means 7,000 Senecas get first crack at the 2,500 jobs.
The bad news is it's already done. Pataki and the Senecas signed the compact, legislators OK'd it. The door to downtown is open, if the Senecas want to come. If Washington signs off on the deal in a couple of weeks, and lawsuits don't stop it, the game - barring an outcry huge enough to change the Senecas' minds - is over.
As for promised economic spinoffs, Johnson is still waiting. A casino is like a sports arena - an island unto itself. People park there, gamble there, eat there and drive home.
The folks who want this say it's not our salvation, but another log on the fire. They say a casino will lure people here, bring life to downtown, add 2,500 jobs and we get a cut. Seneca officials say Niagara Falls' take will be as much as $10 million.
It sounds good, and it may work for a tourist-desperate city in even worse shape than Buffalo.
For Buffalo, it seems like another "solution" that does us more harm than good.
The big worry here is turning a chunk of downtown into a sovereign nation. The Senecas can do what they want - no zoning board, no public hearings, no fear of non-Seneca citizenry voting anybody out of office. They could put up acres of low-income housing, or a monolithic mega-complex with casino, convention center and parking garages. If we don't like it, we're stuck. It's none of our business.
Time and again we've shown we don't know what we're doing in this city, but at least we were masters of our own fate. Not with this.
Maybe it'll work out. In this view, it's too great a leap of faith. A mayor who has gotten a close look didn't ease any fears.
e-mail: desmonde@buffnews.com
BUFFALO CASINO WOULD HARM CITY
Joseph Davis - Buffalo News, July 17, 2002A gambling casino in Buffalo would be a disaster for the city and for all of Western New York. Contrary to the propaganda, a casino would bring in little or no new revenue to this area but rather siphon off dollars from the existing economy and send them elsewhere: 75 percent to the Seneca Nation and 19 percent to New York State, leaving a mere 6 percent for the city. The contention that a casino would attract a large number of tourists and bring in substantial new revenue is totally unrealistic. Do we really believe tourists will be flocking to Buffalo in mid-January or other winter months, or even at other times, when other attractive casinos are readily available, e.g., Niagara Falls, Ont.; New Jersey; Detroit; Las Vegas.
The fact is that a casino in Buffalo would primarily depend on the local population for its revenue, and send 94 percent of profits out of the area. Meantime, local businesses and restaurants would be hurt and the city would be forced to supply numerous public services to the casino while losing a large tax base, and even civil control over parts of downtown. Some jobs would be generated but most of these would be low-paying. Can anyone seriously believe this would be a good deal for Buffalo and all of Western New York?
Tell your political representatives that you adamantly oppose this plan. If the majority of people really do want a casino, state legislators should cease their anti-gambling hypocrisy and change the law to allow locally owned and operated gambling casinos in the state.
JOSEPH DAVIS, East Amherst
STOP BUFFALO CASINO BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
Robert Schulman, M.D. - Buffalo News, June 25, 2002Since there has been no logical, proven economic or social benefit to Buffalo for a casino in a sovereign Seneca territory in our city, why can't the government wake up to the concerns of its citizens? There is now a growing, active, determined voice against a Buffalo casino. This voice represents all areas of our community, not just developers and Gov. George Pataki's financial supporters. We all need to speak out and regain the power to plan for the future of our families and children. Otherwise, we will be harmed by the presence of a casino. In an area with so many surrounding gambling venues, the "success" of a new casino is very unlikely.
How many gamblers can be spread around unless we breed new ones? That is exactly what the tobacco and alcohol industries are doing every day. There is no doubt that the lotteries attract new vulnerable people to the point of addiction. The numerous other "games" are dangerous and will drain their victims. The silent addiction of gambling surely will increase due to the proximity of a casino.
Will all levels of government please look at Buffalo's true needs and bring common sense to bear? Stop the casino before it starts.
ROBERT J. SCHULMAN, M.D.
CASINO IN BUFFALO A CHUMP'S DEAL
Dan Schifeling - Buffalo News, May 20, 2002Imagine yourself hospitalized with anemic blood. You are growing weaker by the hour. Your red blood count is way down. Your doctor prescribes a transfusion and the nurse rolls in a machine. "At last," you say to yourself, "I'm going to get the help I need." The nurse puts a needle into your vein. But then to your horror, instead of giving you blood, you see that you are connected to an empty bag and what blood you have drains out of you.
That's Buffalo and the casino deal. Everyone here knows that our economy is worse than anemic. Everyone here knows that we need a transfusion of real economic development. The casino will only suck what economic blood we do have out of our city.
Is it breaking anyone's bubble to say that Buffalo is not a world-class tourist destination? Casinos might make economic sense in Las Vegas, where people from all over the world flock to spend their money. A casino might even make sense in Niagara Falls. But no out-of-towners will plan a trip to Buffalo's casino with so many more attractive places to gamble already available. No, the money lost in Buffalo's casino will come straight out of Western New York's neighborhoods and flow straight into the pockets of the Senecas, their developer, and the State of New York -- all of whom are out of town. Buffalo's share? A pittance. Less than 5% of the profits.
While the casino siphons off our money, it will do a lot of other damage:
**No other city has ever had a sovereign nation, with the right to expand through eminent domain, smack in the middle of its downtown. Inside the casino, our normal rights as citizens evaporate because we are subject tot he laws of a foreign nation. If the Senecas decide they want to expand their operation or provide housing for their citizens who work at the casino, they can gobble up more of downtown. Every property they acquire comes off the tax rolls.
**Nothing prevents the casino from selling cigarettes, liquor, gasoline, or anything else taxed by New York State at prices that will greatly undercut the local competition. Why would any local merchant think the casino is a good deal? What will happen to the Elmwood strip or to local drug stores or gas stations?
**Hello, Casino. Good-bye Buffalo Bills? The casino will suck up scarce entertainment dollars. What if the Bills have a couple of losing seasons and fan support begins to wain? Even more in jeopardy is the theatre district and the bars and restaurants on Chippawa Street.
This casino deal did not just happen. The deal makers poured money into the campaign funds of Governor Patacki and other leaders. Common Cause estimates that 3 million dollars has been spent. In fact, this deal is the poster child for why we need campaign finance reform. The people who spent and received this money did not altuistically plan what was best for Western New York. They placed a bet, expecting it to make them richer. They plotted so the ordinary citizens who live here never got a chance to vote on it. For us, though, it's a chump's deal.
We don't have to accept it! Like moving Children's Hospital, we can just say NO! Speak up now, or watch them suck the economic blood out of our city!
SAVE US FROM OUR LEADERS
Mark Goldman - Buffalo News, May 19, 2002 The political and business "leaders" so ardently supporting casino gambling in downtown Buffalo have no legitimacy to speak for the rest of this community. While it may be conceivable that a Seneca-run casino is in our best interests, the idea that such a controversial project, once fraught with such significance for our future, could be forced down the throats of our community with no citizen input, is, frankly, sickening. Who are these people who have anointed themselves to speak for us on this most compelling and significant issue? Does the Masiello Administration, which has been so willing to trade the patrimony of this community - be it large tracts of land granted to politically wired developers, or cash, tax abatements and other perks to companies like K-Mart and Adelphia, both of whom are now under criminal investigation, have any credibility, let alone authority to make such a momentous decision for us? I thought that things had changed. I thought that the days when "leaders" made decisions for us - be it the building of NYS Thruway along the Waterfront, the excavation of the Kensington Expressway through the Humboldt Park neighborhood, or the closing of Children's Hospital--were long gone.One of the great strengths of this community is the passion and depth of commitment that exists among the grass roots. Despite years of public policy failures by political and business "leaders", the majority of people here maintain a deeply held faith in the goodness of their home-town. This faith, translated into good works at every level of community life, has done far more than any actions by political and business "leaders" to improve the quality of life in our city. Yet this faith and energy are now severely threatened by this arrogant, un-American really, power grab. Casino gambling is too important an issue to be left in the hand of deeply suspect "leaders". Therefore, it is imperative that those of us who care not only about the future of downtown but, more significantly, about the future of democratic values in this community, stand together and insist that all plans for any kind of casino in downtown Buffalo cease and desist until a city-wide referendum is held on the question. Then, let the "leaders" follow.