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Casino

Edgy MD Feb 05 2013 08:29 AM

Rubin, in an article I can't read, reports that the Mets' owners want a casino next to CitiField. Without reading anything but the headlines, my first reaction is booo! Like Moss Eisley, a casino in New York would be a hive of scum and villiany. My second reaction is... booo! Baseball's high and mighty position with gambling is impossible to maintain when owners get their thumbs in gambling's pie, or when gaming and the games are held in such close proximity, or with related landlords.

Ceetar Feb 05 2013 08:32 AM Re: Casino

Edgy MD wrote: Rubin, in an article I can't read, reports that the Mets' owners want a casino next to CitiField. Without reading anything but the headlines, my first reaction is booo! Like Moss Eisley, a casino in New York would be a hive of scum and villiany. My second reaction is... booo! Baseball's high and mighty position with gambling is impossible to maintain when owners get their thumbs in gambling's pie, or when gaming and the games are held in such close proximity, or with related landlords. I love the idea of a real casino in New York in virtually every conceivable way. But this is an old story/rumor/etc from what I understand and it's not something that's current. They thought about it, years ago, as part of the Willets Point proposal. Slow news day and poor headline language.

metirish Feb 05 2013 08:33 AM Re: Casino

By Adam Rubin | ESPNNewYork.com The owners of the New York Mets reportedly wanted to take a gamble on owning a casino next to Citi Field, the home of their major league club. Sterling Equities, the real-estate company operated by Fred Wilpon and family, who also owns the Mets, pitched a casino adjacent to the major league stadium in September 2011 and offered the City of New York $100 million to acquire 62 acres for the site, the New York Post reported Tuesday. Sterling Equities even lined up the Shinnecock Indian nation to operate the casino, but a live-dealer casino is not legal in New York except on tribal lands, making it infeasible at this point, according to the report. Sterling Equities was instead given 23 of the 62 requested acres in June to construct a $3 billion entertainment complex -- minus the casino. "The submission that included a gaming use was quickly dismissed as unviable," a spokesman with the city's Economic Development Corp. told the Post. "A different plan is now moving through the approvals process for a project that will create a dynamic new destination, hundreds of units of affordable housing, and thousands of jobs." The pitch for the casino was being delivered during the height of the Mets owners' financial troubles related to Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The owners since have favorably settled a lawsuit that sought to recover funds from them for allegedly profiting from the Ponzi scheme. The Mets declined to comment on the casino report.

metirish Feb 05 2013 08:35 AM Re: Casino

Sounds like a clusterfuck......... Sterling Equities even lined up the Shinnecock Indian nation to operate the casino, but a live-dealer casino is not legal in New York except on tribal lands, making it infeasible at this point, according to the report. The Wilpon's are cowboy's not Indians.......

John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 05 2013 08:41 AM Re: Casino

It’s an Amazin’ gamble! The Mets’ owners want to roll the dice on building a Las Vegas-style casino next to Citi Field to recoup some of the $162 million for which team brass are still on the hook following the Bernie Madoff Ponzi-scheme debacle, plans obtained by The Post reveal. While team owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz are still having trouble opening their tight pockets for high-priced free agents, that didn’t stop their development arm, Sterling Equities, from betting on a proposal that called for bringing a massive casino with gaming tables and slots, a 500-room, full-service hotel, 1.8 million square feet of retail and other amenities to the Willets Point development site in Queens. The Southampton-based Shinnecock Indian Nation signed on to operate the casino, and the Wilpons and partners even offered the city $100 million for the 62-acre site, according to the development team’s proposal, which was first obtained by project opponents Willets Point United and NYC Park Advocates. “This will be a place about fun — for families, sports fans and thrill seekers alike,” the proposal says. “[It] will attract millions of visitors from the New York area and around the world and will serve as New York’s newest and most unique entertainment destination.” Even as he planned to let it all ride on the glitzy casino, Wilpon’s team has lowered payroll to about $93 million this season, down from $143 million in 2011, when the team lost $70 million. With live-dealer casino gambling currently illegal in New York, except on tribal lands, the Wilpons and partner Related Companies were awarded a consolation prize. In June, the Bloomberg administration handed them 23 of the 62 acres of city-owned land they sought in the September 2011 casino proposal — most of which is now used for parking — to build a $3 billion retail and entertainment complex without a casino. The revelation that the Mets owners’ want a casino comes as the state Legislature is considering a constitutional amendment to allow Las Vegas-style table gaming. And Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has begun talking up a casino at Willets Point or Coney Island. Gov. Cuomo has so far said he’d support only three casinos “upstate” for the “foreseeable future” if the amendment passes. City officials pulled the casino from the Willets Point plan partly because they thought the government-approval process would take too long, sources said. However, a city spokesman declined to comment when asked if the city would push for a casino there if the state Legislature eventually backs it. The Mets declined to comment, but a spokesman for Sterling-Related said it’s “focused” on the project the mayor endorsed. Although Sterling Equities wouldn’t directly operate or build the casino, any investment by the Mets’ owners in such a venture could raise eyebrows, considering Major League Baseball’s tough antigambling policies. A league spokesman said that MLB would “need to get all of the details of the agreement” and that it would ultimately be Commissioner Bud Selig’s call. Selig and Wilpon are longtime friends. MLB in December 2011 gave the cash-strapped Mets its blessing to take out a $40 million bank loan – even as the team had to pay back a $25 million loan the league gave them a year earlier. The Mets have since settled its league loan. The Bloomberg administration says it’s “all in” on the current Willets Point plan, which isn’t expected to break ground for at least a year. The developers first have to clear out a bunch of junkyards that are on part of the site. “The submission that included a gaming use was quickly dismissed as unviable,” a spokesman for the city’s Economic Development Corp. said. “A different plan is now moving through the approvals process for a project that will create a dynamic new destination, hundreds of units of affordable housing, and thousands of jobs.” Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates is no fan of either version of the plan, saying the project is destined to plague surrounding neighborhoods with various problems –including overwhelming traffic. Regarding the original 900,000-square-foot casino plan, he said, “it’s hard to think of anything more corrupt than putting a casino in the middle of low-income communities.”

Mets – Willets Point Feb 05 2013 08:43 AM Re: Casino

Heh-heh ... Shinnecock ... heh-heh.

Kong76 Feb 05 2013 08:50 AM Re: Casino

This family gets whackier year by year.

Edgy MD Feb 05 2013 08:51 AM Re: Casino

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: It’s an Amazin’ gamble! The Mets’ owners want to roll the dice on building a Las Vegas-style casino next to Citi Field to recoup some of the $162 million for which team brass are still on the hook following the Bernie Madoff Ponzi-scheme debacle, plans obtained by The Post reveal. While team owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz are still having trouble opening their tight pockets for high-priced free agents, that didn’t stop their development arm, Sterling Equities, from betting on a proposal that called for bringing a massive casino with gaming tables and slots, a 500-room, full-service hotel, 1.8 million square feet of retail and other amenities to the Willets Point development site in Queens. The Southampton-based Shinnecock Indian Nation signed on to operate the casino, and the Wilpons and partners even offered the city $100 million for the 62-acre site, according to the development team’s proposal, which was first obtained by project opponents Willets Point United and NYC Park Advocates. “This will be a place about fun — for families, sports fans and thrill seekers alike,” the proposal says. “[It] will attract millions of visitors from the New York area and around the world and will serve as New York’s newest and most unique entertainment destination.” Even as he planned to let it all ride on the glitzy casino, Wilpon’s team has lowered payroll to about $93 million this season, down from $143 million in 2011, when the team lost $70 million. With live-dealer casino gambling currently illegal in New York, except on tribal lands, the Wilpons and partner Related Companies were awarded a consolation prize. In June, the Bloomberg administration handed them 23 of the 62 acres of city-owned land they sought in the September 2011 casino proposal — most of which is now used for parking — to build a $3 billion retail and entertainment complex without a casino. The revelation that the Mets owners’ want a casino comes as the state Legislature is considering a constitutional amendment to allow Las Vegas-style table gaming. And Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has begun talking up a casino at Willets Point or Coney Island. Gov. Cuomo has so far said he’d support only three casinos “upstate” for the “foreseeable future” if the amendment passes. City officials pulled the casino from the Willets Point plan partly because they thought the government-approval process would take too long, sources said. However, a city spokesman declined to comment when asked if the city would push for a casino there if the state Legislature eventually backs it. The Mets declined to comment, but a spokesman for Sterling-Related said it’s “focused” on the project the mayor endorsed. Although Sterling Equities wouldn’t directly operate or build the casino, any investment by the Mets’ owners in such a venture could raise eyebrows, considering Major League Baseball’s tough antigambling policies. A league spokesman said that MLB would “need to get all of the details of the agreement” and that it would ultimately be Commissioner Bud Selig’s call. Selig and Wilpon are longtime friends. MLB in December 2011 gave the cash-strapped Mets its blessing to take out a $40 million bank loan – even as the team had to pay back a $25 million loan the league gave them a year earlier. The Mets have since settled its league loan. The Bloomberg administration says it’s “all in” on the current Willets Point plan, which isn’t expected to break ground for at least a year. The developers first have to clear out a bunch of junkyards that are on part of the site. “The submission that included a gaming use was quickly dismissed as unviable,” a spokesman for the city’s Economic Development Corp. said. “A different plan is now moving through the approvals process for a project that will create a dynamic new destination, hundreds of units of affordable housing, and thousands of jobs.” Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates is no fan of either version of the plan, saying the project is destined to plague surrounding neighborhoods with various problems –including overwhelming traffic. Regarding the original 900,000-square-foot casino plan, he said, “it’s hard to think of anything more corrupt than putting a casino in the middle of low-income communities.” This is satire, right? That's some professionally cheesy writing. I can't believe I fell for a headline that says, "Mets Owners Want..." when the lede said "Mets owners wanted... ."

Benjamin Grimm Feb 05 2013 08:51 AM Re: Casino

I don't like the idea of anything in the Citi parking lot other than parking spaces. I know it's horrible to be stuck in the middle of a large parking lot after the game, but without that big lot there would be much more competition for the free "under the overpass" spots that I prefer. During the Citi Field construction, when I'd go to Shea I would park in Manhattan and take the subway to the game. A lot more time-consuming.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 05 2013 01:12 PM Re: Casino

Officials say casino was an old plan since moved on from; Post/blogs citing old documents as "new"

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 05 2013 07:40 PM Re: Casino

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I know it's horrible to be stuck in the middle of a large parking lot after the game, but without that big lot there would be much more competition for the free "under the overpass" spots that I prefer. WHAT free "under the overpass" spots? 90% of those claimed by the Impark brigade. New York City doesn't need a football stadium. New York really doesn't need an Olympics. New York sure as shit doesn't need a motherfucking casino (even hypothetically).

Ceetar Feb 05 2013 07:47 PM Re: Casino

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: I know it's horrible to be stuck in the middle of a large parking lot after the game, but without that big lot there would be much more competition for the free "under the overpass" spots that I prefer. WHAT free "under the overpass" spots? 90% of those claimed by the Impark brigade. New York City doesn't need a football stadium. New York really doesn't need an Olympics. New York sure as shit doesn't need a motherfucking casino (even hypothetically). and stay off the lawn dammit.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 05 2013 07:52 PM Re: Casino

I like placing the occasional bet. More than that, though, I dislike paying taxes to a city that steps on the throat of its already-dying middle class in the rush to hand tax breaks/cheap financing to developers that don't need it for tourist-trap projects we don't need. Maybe it looks different if you live outside of town.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 06 2013 08:08 AM Re: Casino

I've only attended five games at Citi Field since it opened, but each time I was able to get one of those free under-the-overpass spots.

Ceetar Feb 06 2013 08:12 AM Re: Casino

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I've only attended five games at Citi Field since it opened, but each time I was able to get one of those free under-the-overpass spots. This strongly depends on the game and time of course. It's bigger than it looks though, because you can go down for blocks, although I wouldn't recommend that with a low-bottom car like a Saturn SL2. But I do find most of those spots are gone an hour before.

batmagadanleadoff Feb 06 2013 09:00 AM Re: Casino

City Dismisses Talk of a Willets Point Casino By CHARLES V. BAGLI Published: February 5, 2013 A crumbling industrial area near Citi Field in Queens has been viewed by Las Vegas gambling companies, an Indian tribe, developers and even some elected officials as a likely location for a casino resort, if the state legalizes full-scale gambling. But the Bloomberg administration on Tuesday tried to put an end to the speculation, insisting that there will never be a casino at the Willets Point area, where it hopes instead to develop new housing, shopping and entertainment venues. Last June, the city selected the Queens Development Group — a joint venture of Related Companies and Sterling Equities, the developer and the owners of the Mets — to build a 1.4-million-square-foot retail and entertainment mall, a 200-room hotel and shops next to the Citi Field stadium, at Willets Point. “There is no casino being built at Willets Point, period,” said Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Officials also said that the current zoning at Willets Point, as well as an environmental review, would not permit a casino. “The agreement with the Queens Development Group to clean up and transform this long blighted area into a dynamic, mixed-use district expressly prohibits any gaming uses,” said Nick Kelly, a spokesman for the city’s Economic Development Corporation. After Mr. Bloomberg leaves office at year’s end, his successor could move in favor of a casino project. But it would require a lengthy public review and an environmental assessment. In any case, the city has been awash with speculation about potential casino sites every since Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced plans a year ago to legalize full-scale casinos in New York. Currently, the state has five Indian-run casinos, all upstate, and limited electronic gambling at nine racetracks, including Aqueduct in Queens. Last month, the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, said for the first time that he would consider a Las Vegas-style casino in New York City, citing possible locations at Willets Point, Coney Island and Aqueduct. In recent months, MGM Resorts and Las Vegas Sands have explored Willets Point as a possible location for a multibillion-dollar casino-resort. At the same time, the recently created Don’t Gamble on Our Community coalition, which includes elected officials and some community groups, planned a rally Wednesday to oppose a casino development at Willets Point. The city’s “no casino” declaration came on the heels of reports that Related, Sterling Equities, a casino operator (Gateway Casino Resorts) and the Shinnecock Indian Nation had submitted a lengthy proposal to the city in September 2011 to build “a world-class casino, hotel, retail and entertainment destination” at Willets Point. The developers offered to pay $100 million for 61.4 acres of city-owned land. The proposal was given to reporters by opponents to the city’s project, Willets Point United and NYC Park Advocates. City officials and the Queens Development Group say that the proposal was immediately rejected by the Bloomberg administration. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/nyreg ... .html?_r=0

G-Fafif Feb 06 2013 09:03 AM Re: Casino

Edgy MD Feb 06 2013 09:08 AM Re: Casino

"Where do I sign up?"

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 06 2013 09:12 AM Re: Casino

Ceetar wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: I've only attended five games at Citi Field since it opened, but each time I was able to get one of those free under-the-overpass spots. This strongly depends on the game and time of course. It's bigger than it looks though, because you can go down for blocks, although I wouldn't recommend that with a low-bottom car like a Saturn SL2. But I do find most of those spots are gone an hour before. Since the YoungerPooper's arrival, I rarely get there more than an hour before; usually, if we'll drive-- and, if we're coming from the homestead, we usually do-- we'll park just over the footbridge in Corona and take the 5-10 minute walk to the leftfield gate.

batmagadanleadoff Feb 06 2013 09:13 AM Re: Casino

Wouldnt'a surprised me in the least if it turned out that the governemnt eminent domained that prime land, then gave it to the Wilpons for practically nothing so that they, of all people, of all groups, could operate a casino in New York fucking City.

Edgy MD Feb 06 2013 09:40 AM Re: Casino

I'm fascinated by the faint implicatoin that Native Americans' capacity to open casinos isn't something particular to the laws of their tribal land, but can be interpreted as rights that stay with them, even in jurisdictions that otherwise wouldn't allow that. No gambling in NYC? Get a couple of Shinnecocks to front for you and you're gold! Ka-ching!

Ceetar Feb 06 2013 10:31 AM Re: Casino

Edgy MD wrote: I'm fascinated by the faint implicatoin that Native Americans' capacity to open casinos isn't something particular to the laws of their tribal land, but can be interpreted as rights that stay with them, even in jurisdictions that otherwise wouldn't allow that. No gambling in NYC? Get a couple of Shinnecocks to front for you're gold! Ka-ching! Sometimes the only way to get around silly laws is to exploit loopholes.

Edgy MD Feb 06 2013 10:35 AM Re: Casino

People get around good laws through loopholes also, and oft with loopholes that are far sillier than the law. And in this case, the proposed loophole usage appears to be a rather dubious interpretation of the loophole. Which is rather my point.

Ceetar Feb 06 2013 11:02 AM Re: Casino

Edgy MD wrote: People get around good laws through loopholes also, and oft with loopholes that are far sillier than the law. And in this case, the proposed loophole usage appears to be a rather dubious interpretation of the loophole. Which is rather my point. hardly the first one. And it's usually easier to just use the loopholes that get things done than it is to refine and revise law. There are already a couple of casinos in New York that are operated by Native Americans. full, regular casinos. (although no sports betting I don't believe, but that is seemingly operated under a different part of the law. as is horse racing) Foxwoods/Mohegian Sun are the same way. I obviously haven't studied it fully, but from what I understand you get the worst of both worlds this way, but using loopholes. You don't get the same regulation/control and tax income that you would legally, and often times the agreements signed with the tribe ends up not being overly beneficial to them either. In many cases they're being exploited in a whole different corporate America way. A casino in NYC makes a lot of sense though. You can see it coming, with all these slot parlors and 'almost' gambling halls with automated table games. There's one next to JFK. A casino seems to be floated in any major development. (the Lighthouse project/Islanders bits too) Plenty of people go down to Atlantic City or over to the CT ones. Pennsylvania is just over the Delaware water gap. New Jersey's ridiculously antiquated, but the pressure from PA and even Delaware down south might push them to open up gambling state wide, and sports betting too. The Meadowlands would be pretty good location for a casino. It'd just be nice to see a city get ahead of the curve instead of waiting for the curve to press them full against the wall and crushed under the tide of public pressure before they did anything.

Mets – Willets Point Feb 06 2013 11:05 AM Re: Casino

Edgy MD wrote: No gambling in NYC? Get a couple of Shinnecocks to front for you and you're gold! Ka-ching! Especially since the Shiny Cocks are really a front organization founded by a couple of frat bros pretending to be Indians. Hau!