Jeff Gural, principal owner of Vernon Downs, has said he will close the track’s casino on Monday morning in light of the failure of the New York legislature to pass a bill that gives more money to casino/racetrack operators. Gural said he hopes the closure will be temporary. The press release also said that Tioga Downs will be closed at the end of the month if favorable legislation is not passed.
“The tax-relief legislation that was passed by the State Senate with the support of the Governor in June of 2007 was not passed by the Assembly at that time because of lingering questions about the wording of the bill,” said Gural. “After discussions with Assemblyman, Gary Pretlow, Chairman of the Racing and Wagering Committee during last summer’s recess, we came to an agreement that the legislation would be passed in a special summer session or in the fall session. Last October, the Senate, again, was the only body that passed the newly worded legislation. The assembly balked.”
In spite of the non-passage of the legislation in October, Gural was persuaded by key legislators to stay open. This meant that the ownership group of Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs would continue to pump a half million dollars per month into each property to keep them afloat with hopes that compromise legislation could be worked out. However, Gural stressed at that time that Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs would close without receiving the tax reducing legislation soon.
On Jan. 7, Gural, Assemblyman Pretlow, and Joe Faraldo, lawyer for the Vernon Downs horseman’s group, Harness Horse Association of Central New York, met in
“We were waiting for the State legislature to go back into session in the new year and expected them to vote on the rewritten bill,” said Gural. “However, once again, the rewritten legislation agreed to at that meeting remained mired in the Assembly committee. Apparently, a few of the healthier tracks, including Yonkers Raceway, now want even more money from the State education fund.”
According to Gural,
“We have been in an untenable financial position for a long time,” said Gural. “But now we’re forced to temporarily close Vernon Downs to get the legislature to focus on the fact that the original Lottery business model for these racinos is broken and it’s time to fix it,” Gural continued.
According to a story on the Syracuse Post-Standard website, closing the Vernon Downs casino will cost the state approximately $300,000 a week in VLT revenue that goes to education. Gural hopes the closing will force the state legislature to act. “As long as I keep paying them, nothing is going to happen,” Gural said in the Post-Standard story. “When I stop pay them, then they’ll have to deal with it.” According to the Post-Standard story the New York Lottery could take over and operate the Click here to read the complete Post-Standard story
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