New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is hoping to finally hit the jackpot when it comes to gambling in the state.

He has been increasingly vocal about his desire to open state-run casinos in New York in order to financially benefit from the way that people like to spend their money.

'There are going to be eye-catching things next year,' the governor said in an interview with The New York Daily News.

 

Legalization of public casinos has been a political hot-topic for years, and was even on the state's agenda in the 1990s when the current Governor Cuomo's father, Mario Cuomo, was the governor.

Though Mr Cuomo was clear in his undying support for the issue in the most recent interview with The Daily News, this is just another instance added to the list. He held a press conference on the topic in August where he made the case for gambling houses as one of practicality.

'It’s really not an issue anymore of "Well, if we don’t officially sanction it as a government, it’s not going to happen." It is happening,' he said at the Albany press conference.

 

'So now you have to go to the second step. If there is going to be gaming, how should it be done? And that issue, that question, is an important question for the state,' he said.

 

If that is the second step, the third would be location.

 

New York City has been floated around as a very clear possibility given the existing public transport system and built-in audience. That said, Mr Cuomo wasn't ready to settle on the Big Apple for sure during the Daily News interview.

 

 

'Do I support casino gaming at a New York City location? . . . Yes,' he said.

 

'I’m not excluding any locations at this time,' he continued. 'New York City is a real location, Albany is a real location. Buffalo is a real location.'

 

The creation of a state-run casino would add to the five Indian-owned casinos operating upstate currently. The state also allows partial electronic gambling but only at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, though that is a different classification.

 

Once the intended location is chosen, the final major step would be to fix the state-legality issues which include changing the state's constitution. In order for that to happen, an amendment would have to be added which can only occur if two consecutive legislatures agree and put it forth to a public referendum. 

 

If the bureaucratic obstacles are overpassed, there is certainly a big winning to be had for the state. According to The New York Times, New York should earn $684million from the electronic gambling at the Aqueduct racetrack and other 'racinos' alone. 

 

Given his success this year- his first- as Governor, Mr Cuomo seems determined to add casinos to his list of completed tasks which include the legalization of same-sex marriage, a much-needed austere budget, and a property tax cap.

 

'The economy is not going to come rebounding back in a way that you can buy your way out of this problem. And, by the way, you shouldn’t buy your way out of the problem — you’re going to have to manage your way out of the problem,' Mr Cuomo said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078696/Ca-Ching-New-York-City-hit-jackpot-Casino-says-Governor-Cuomo.html#ixzz1hk9u3zSH