NEWS
Electronic table games still on target in N.Y.
Posted: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 6:13 PM
by Paul Post
The New York State Lottery plans to install electronic table games at the state's eight racinos within a year's time, despite the state Assembly's failure to enact such legislation.
The Assembly wrapped up business for the year on Monday without approving the bill, which had already passed the Senate by a 54-8 margin.
Lottery officials say electronic versions of roulette, baccarat, blackjack, and craps are legal, based on prior court decisions. A formal law would have supported the initiative but is not essential, said Bill Murray, New York State Lottery's deputy director and general counsel.
"I don't think the legislation is needed to authorize electronic table games," he said at Tuesday's New York Gaming Summit in Saratoga Springs, New York, with more than 200 industry leaders in attendance.
"We're moving forward," he said. "We've been moving forward since March."
The one drawback of not getting the bill passed is that racinos will not be allowed to have expanded hours. Currently, they cannot stay open past 2 a.m. EDT. Depending on the number of gaming machines they have, the bill would have allowed racinos to stay open from 128 to 140 hours per week, and adjust schedules to suit their individual clientele. In some cases, racinos might have stayed open 24 hours some days.
The expanded hours alone would have generated an additional $36-million statewide per year, Murray said.
Independent consultants have said table games could generate an additional $250-million per year statewide. Murray, however, said he is less optimistic. As a rule, all casinos get 85% to 90% of their income from slot machines or slot-like video lottery terminals, he said.
"We're a little more cautious about how much it's going to add," he said.
Currently, Finger Lakes Race Track near Rochester is New York's only Thoroughbred venue with expanded gaming. Plans call for putting 4,500 VLTs at Aqueduct. The state is expected to name an operator by August 1, Murray said. New York's other racinos are at its seven harness tracks.
Murray said Lottery does not anticipate a legal challenge to electronic table games.
Paul Post is a New York-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent
