Ny Casino Voter Referendum Wording Challenged by Attorney

A November nyc State casino referendum for voters has one attorney questioning the ballot’s wording

In November, New York voters are scheduled to vote on a referendum that will allow several casino that is new become built through the state. But if one Brooklyn lawyer is effective, that referendum shall be halted due to Language into the ballot question he claims violates state legislation.

Referendum Language Questioned

The language in the referendum carries a quantity of ‘legislative purposes’ that paint the proposal in an unmistakably positive light. For example, the concern mentions ‘promoting job growth, increasing aid to schools and permitting local governments to lower property taxes.’ That language was approved by hawaii Board of Elections in July.

But now, lawyer Eric J. Snyder is contending that the language in the bill violates New York legislation. In accordance with case filed into the ny State Supreme Court, Snyder alleges that the language violates the continuing State Constitution’s prohibition on the application of general public money in the aid of ‘private undertakings.’

‘The Constitution is pretty clear that you can’t use public cash to sway or influence a vote,’ Snyder said.

Snyder isn’t the only one who has taken up problems with the language in the referendum. Many government watchdog groups also view it as one-sided, and religious teams have also noted the language used when telling parishioners to consider social ills that could come with the advertised great things about casino expansion.

Interestingly, the original language in the referendum didn’t mention some of the benefits being set to look in the ballot question that is final. Whenever the first draft arrived from the state attorney general’s office, the language was more direct and didn’t are the legislative purposes. Those showed up only following the Board of Elections changed the wording, after just what co-chairman Douglas Kellner said had been ‘extensive discussions.’

Wording Can Affect Outcome, Historically Speaking

The language of the ballot concern might seem just like a thing that is trivial battle over, but history shows time and again that even minor modifications towards the name or wording of legislation may have an important impact on public opinion, and which has proven true once more in this case.

According up to a poll by Siena university, 55% of the latest York voters were in favor of this referendum when they were read the question as it is scheduled to show up on the November 5 ballot, with 42% compared. But when voters were instead expected a question that is similar more neutral language, these were evenly split on the matter.

That ‘advocating language’ is really what Snyder whom additionally opposes casino expansion personally says should cause the court to enjoin voting on the bill until more neutral language was invest its spot.

‘It is partisan, and an effect is being had by it,’ Snyder said. ‘And that is not the government’s role.’

The success of the referendum is in some doubt regardless of the language used despite the promising poll numbers. With no elections that are statewide for November, turnout is likely to be low in many towns. However in New York City, a mayor that is contested race will likely lead to higher turnout there and voters in the town tend to be more skeptical about the casino expansion than voters in all of those other state.

For Tribal Gaming Lobby, It’s a Tough Row to Hoe in Congress

Scenes like this one, of tribal Gaming lobbyists working their problems in Congress, are not creating results that are many days

An awful lot of people are unhappy with the direction or lack thereof of the United States Congress this season. You can now add indigenous American tribes that operate gambling enterprises across the nation to that long list.

No Respect in Congress for Tribal Issues

Talking about the lack of any legislation that is federal clarify and regulate the new relative Wild West that is state-by-state online gambling in the U.S. these days, John Gusik a founding partner for the Washington D.C.-based law and government relations services outfit called the Franklin Partnership, had this to say at the recent international Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas: ‘There have been 4,500 bills in Congress this year; only 31 have been enacted. It’s a do-nothing Congress. Seventy-two bills dealing with tribal issues and none happen enacted. Online gaming continues to languish in Congress.’

Whilst the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 established the framework for Native American gambling enterprises to benefit this until-then underclass economically, it has not all been champagne and flowers for some for the tribes, whom nevertheless grapple with basic issues such as better education and health care for their members. And now as legal online poker in Nevada and imminently, legal online casino gambling in New Jersey and Maryland just take hold the Indian ‘special nation’ status vis a vis gambling enterprises may be threatened, particularly as gambling industry executives warn of impending market saturation throughout all of the U.S. that will affect the whole marketplace.

Clearly, all the drama surrounding wellness care therefore the government shutdown hasn’t exactly helped put give attention to Indian casino industry issues either.

Casino Money Isn’t Enough, Lobbyists Insist

The National Indian Gaming Commission showed $27.9 billion in video gaming revenues in 2012, which is up 2.6 per cent from $27.2 billion in 2011, so the tribes may have trouble garnering much sympathy from anybody in a nevertheless unsteady economy, but lobbyists says there is much more at stake for the tribes than simply income.

‘If you represent tribes, they think you must work on Indian gaming on a regular basis,’ said Pete Kirkham, who runs Red Maple asking, a federal government affairs and governmental strategy firm, and works with many of the tribes on different legislative issues. ‘ Gaming takes up some right time but it is also about wellness care, education and housing.’

Kirkham says they are nevertheless waiting on 13 appropriation bills that the tribes requirement for funding. He says that while the majority of tribal income is gaming-derived, that much of it goes directly back in the city.

‘Everything is now seen through the prism of gaming,’ stated Jana McKeag, president of Lowry techniques, an Alexandria, Va., government and public affairs firm that is consulting. ‘Congress believes that tribes have all this video gaming cash … why do they need (federal dollars)?’

Other problems that tribal lobbyists want addressed involve the profusion of off-reservation casinos in areas where those gambling enterprises might take business away from the Indian people. Also, the proliferation of online cafes in states like California, Florida, and new york have emerged as a problem the gaming that is entire must deal with.

‘In California, for instance, these are typically unlawful but the state has no cash to shut them down,’ McKeag noted on the panel that is g2E. ‘They are not regulated and can be an chance of cash laundering. The issue is when they shut them down, they just appear somewhere else.’

Meanwhile, with everything occurring in Congress now, it doesn’t look like tribal gaming dilemmas are likely to move to the front of the relative line any time soon.

Casinos Ready to Add Nostalgia-Based Skill Games to Their Rosters

Slot manufacturer IGT has reintroduced the old Centipede game for slots to tap to the nostalgia craze

They offer, casinos are usually careful to limit just how much players can affect the games through their own skill when it comes to the games. Sure, blackjack and video poker offer players the chance to make skillful decisions, but even perfect play nevertheless will leave the casino with a small advantage (and if you overcome that through card counting, they can always just stop letting you play). Most other games, like slots, are completely based on random luck.

Everything Old is New Again

However with casinos looking new avenues with which to attract clients, it looks like skill-based gaming may be coming to a venue in your area. That’s the word from the gaming that is global (G2E), where manufacturers had been showing off games that allow players to use their skills in an effort to provide them a better chance to win cash.

The biggest hit that had been seen at G2E in this genre is a device developed by Overseas Game Technology. IGT has made a machine in line with the 1981 hit arcade game Centipede, in which players shoot digital insects to be able to score points.

Centipede ended up being originally developed by Atari, company that has very long since passed its heyday. But IGT as well as other manufacturers are hoping to cash in on a wave of nostalgia that may lure middle-aged gamblers who have fond memories of playing very early arcade games.

In the casino form of Centipede, the points that players score could be directly translated into money. Of course, the casino still wants to have the benefit, so you’ll need to get happy to get into bonus rounds and even the absolute most skilled player will be an underdog over time against the casino.

Playing Against Other Players on Devices

But that isn’t where games like Centipede intend on stopping. The equipment also permits two players to get head-to-head on the machines, aided by the better player walking away using the winnings. That’s a true battle of ability, much like exactly how players can meet one another at the poker table, with the casino taking only a cut that is small ensure they profit.

Baby boomers aren’t the only people that IGT and other manufacturers (WMS and Aristocrat both say they have skill-based games within the works) are hoping that these games can pull in; these companies would also like to lure younger players to slot machines, which traditionally are the bailiwick of an older demographic. A few new games by Bally Technologies even incorporate leader boards in order to try and get players right back into the habit of wanting high ratings.

‘The casino would love it if players are like, ‘Oh, I obtained beat! I need to return and play some more to get into the lead,” said Bally spokesman Mike Trask. ‘if they were 15 years old in 1985 playing against their friends, trying to get the score that is highest, that person is almost 50 years old now, and so they’re right in the demographic.’

Others believe that the main element will be matching players for head-to-head skill indian dreaming slot wins competitions with money exactly in danger. It has become a reality in online video gaming, and some see casinos could do the exact same thing.

‘Let me play Madden football, allow me play EA Hockey,’ stated Geoff Freeman, head of this American Gaming Association. ‘ We’ll put $20 down, the winner gets $15 and the homely house gets $5.’

However, casino experts point out that these sorts of experiences will probably only add up to a niche market in the industry. Most likely, they do say, casinos nevertheless make a great deal more money when gamblers perform against them than when they simply take on each other.