Saratoga:Racino Employees Support expanded Casino Gaming
Jan 15, 2014 11:36:42 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2014 11:36:42 GMT -5
As you all know I strongly support the Casinos in New York. I just hope the Horsemen get their proper percentage from the revenue.
By Charlie Kraebel, ckraebel@saratogian.com,, @charlie_Kraebel on Twitter
POSTED: 01/14/14, 10:04 PM EST |
Saratoga Casino and Raceway Human Resources Generalist Danielle Healey speaks during the press conference Tuesday.
SARATOGA SPRINGS >> Saratoga Casino & Raceway Entertainment Director Kathleen Anderson said Tuesday the “only impact” expanded gaming at the facility would have on the Spa City would be “positive.”
Anderson was one of several racino employees who gathered at a news conference to promote putting a full-gaming casino in the city. The conference was put on by Destination Saratoga.
In November, voters statewide approved a referendum to allow the construction of four casinos in the state, and one of them will be located in the Capital Region. A panel chosen by the state Gaming Commission will be formed to review applications, which are due June 1. In his State of the State address Jan. 8, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the sites will be chosen by this fall.
However, voters here oppose such a plan, as nearly 54 percent of voters in Saratoga County and 58 percent in Saratoga Springs opposed November’s referendum. However, in December 2012, the county board of supervisors and city council each passed resolutions in support of a full-gaming casino.
At Tuesday’s news conference, Anderson was one of several racino employees who said the existing facility has had a positive effect on the Spa City, and the 630 people who work there are very much part of the community.
“When I hear people saying a casino has no place in Saratoga, I’m personally offended,” she said. “My coworkers and I deserve to be heard, and any group saying they speak for the people of Saratoga in opposing the casino expansion certainly don’t speak for me, my family or my coworkers.”
Danielle Healey, the racino’s human resources generalist, said the facility sees 30 to 40 job applications a week. Healey, who was worked there for 10 years, said Saratoga Casino & Raceway has allowed her to raise a family and buy a home, and she believes expanded gaming at the facility would give others the same opportunity.
She said applicants are enticed by the racino’s “good jobs, with good benefits, and – contrary to what some ill-informed people have said – they are exactly the kind of jobs that help keep our community strong.”
Charlie Hoffman, who has worked at Saratoga Casino & Raceway for 68 years, said the racing end of the business “has never been stronger” and that the casino has strengthened the racing business.
“Purses are up, and the harness track is a bigger part of racing than ever before,” he said.
Sara Boivin, a steering committee member for the anti-casino expansion group Saratogians Against Vegas-style Expansion (SAVE), called the news conference an “unfair exploitation of workers” at the racino.
While acknowledging that the addition and retention of jobs is an “important piece” of the casino debate, Boivin said it’s a “shame that the people at the racino are being manipulated by the powers that be ... the ones who lobbied for it.”
“Fifty-eight percent of the voters in Saratoga said no,” she said. “That needs to be upheld.”
By Charlie Kraebel, ckraebel@saratogian.com,, @charlie_Kraebel on Twitter
POSTED: 01/14/14, 10:04 PM EST |
Saratoga Casino and Raceway Human Resources Generalist Danielle Healey speaks during the press conference Tuesday.
SARATOGA SPRINGS >> Saratoga Casino & Raceway Entertainment Director Kathleen Anderson said Tuesday the “only impact” expanded gaming at the facility would have on the Spa City would be “positive.”
Anderson was one of several racino employees who gathered at a news conference to promote putting a full-gaming casino in the city. The conference was put on by Destination Saratoga.
In November, voters statewide approved a referendum to allow the construction of four casinos in the state, and one of them will be located in the Capital Region. A panel chosen by the state Gaming Commission will be formed to review applications, which are due June 1. In his State of the State address Jan. 8, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the sites will be chosen by this fall.
However, voters here oppose such a plan, as nearly 54 percent of voters in Saratoga County and 58 percent in Saratoga Springs opposed November’s referendum. However, in December 2012, the county board of supervisors and city council each passed resolutions in support of a full-gaming casino.
At Tuesday’s news conference, Anderson was one of several racino employees who said the existing facility has had a positive effect on the Spa City, and the 630 people who work there are very much part of the community.
“When I hear people saying a casino has no place in Saratoga, I’m personally offended,” she said. “My coworkers and I deserve to be heard, and any group saying they speak for the people of Saratoga in opposing the casino expansion certainly don’t speak for me, my family or my coworkers.”
Danielle Healey, the racino’s human resources generalist, said the facility sees 30 to 40 job applications a week. Healey, who was worked there for 10 years, said Saratoga Casino & Raceway has allowed her to raise a family and buy a home, and she believes expanded gaming at the facility would give others the same opportunity.
She said applicants are enticed by the racino’s “good jobs, with good benefits, and – contrary to what some ill-informed people have said – they are exactly the kind of jobs that help keep our community strong.”
Charlie Hoffman, who has worked at Saratoga Casino & Raceway for 68 years, said the racing end of the business “has never been stronger” and that the casino has strengthened the racing business.
“Purses are up, and the harness track is a bigger part of racing than ever before,” he said.
Sara Boivin, a steering committee member for the anti-casino expansion group Saratogians Against Vegas-style Expansion (SAVE), called the news conference an “unfair exploitation of workers” at the racino.
While acknowledging that the addition and retention of jobs is an “important piece” of the casino debate, Boivin said it’s a “shame that the people at the racino are being manipulated by the powers that be ... the ones who lobbied for it.”
“Fifty-eight percent of the voters in Saratoga said no,” she said. “That needs to be upheld.”
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