Hofstra College’s management doesn’t desire a on line casino close to its campus in Nassau County on New York’s Lengthy Island.
Former Hofstra College President Stuart Rabinowitz sits on the New York Gaming Facility Location Board. His membership is inflicting some considerations about his capacity to stay neutral when contemplating a on line casino plan from Las Vegas Sands that targets the Nassau Coliseum, which is simply steps from the college’s campus on Lengthy Island. (Picture: On line casino.org)
The non-public faculty has gone as far as to dam a gaming resort from being licensed on the Nassau Coliseum, and to file a lawsuit in opposition to the native planning fee on allegations the federal government entity violated open conferences legal guidelines whereas mulling a multibillion-dollar plan offered by Las Vegas Sands. Hofstra President Susan Poser earlier this month appeared earlier than the Nassau County legislature to specific her causes for opposing a on line casino resort.
Poser cited the steadily claimed causes for opposing a on line casino. She opined {that a} on line casino in Nassau County would enhance crime and scale back households’ financial savings accounts, add to site visitors congestion, and convey seedy characters to city.
Poser believes a on line casino has no enterprise being simply steps from Hofstra’s campus. And whereas Sands is without doubt one of the most revered gaming operators on the planet, and has the monetary wherewithal to foyer closely in New York and on Lengthy Island to win over authorities officers and the general public, Poser would possibly maintain higher gap playing cards in her head-to-head battle in opposition to Sands.
Former Hofstra President on State Board
New York lawmakers in 2013 ended the state’s prohibition on industrial on line casino playing. The legislation initially licensed 4 upstate brick-and-mortar casinos with slots and reside vendor desk video games. Three extra downstate on line casino licenses had been additionally accepted, however a 10-year moratorium on issuing these concessions was included within the statute.
These 10 years have since handed, and New York state officers are actually readying to dispense the coveted downstate licenses. Two of the concessions are anticipated to go to MGM Resorts’ Empire Metropolis On line casino on the Yonkers Raceway and Resorts World New York Metropolis in Queens. These properties are presently racinos that may solely supply video lottery terminals and digital desk video games.
The third license is the one up for grabs, and the one which has spurred sturdy curiosity from not solely Sands, but additionally from main gaming gamers like Caesars Leisure, Wynn Resorts, Laborious Rock Worldwide, and the Mohegan Tribe. The aggressive bidding struggle for the license will finally be decided by the New York State Gaming Fee and the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB).
The GFLB consists of three members appointed by the gaming fee. One such member is Stuart Rabinowitz, who served for 20 years as president of Hofstra College till his August 2021 retirement.
Rabinowitz’s appointment to the board that can suggest to the New York State Gaming Fee which initiatives get greenlit has prompted some criticism amongst those that need Sands to return to Lengthy Island.
Bias Alleged
Nassau County residents who desire a on line casino to return to Uniondale — or who, no less than, need the county’s bid to obtain an unbiased consideration from the state — query Rabinowitz’s capacity to stay neutral, contemplating his shut ties to Hofstra and Poser’s staunch opposition to the Sands pitch.
It actually has an look of impropriety,” Robert LoScalzo, a civic activist based mostly in Queens, instructed the New York Put up. “This isn’t an individual who’d throw Hofstra underneath the bus.”
Rabinowitz’s identify is adorned on Hofstra’s Honors Faculty, formally the Stuart and Nancy Rabinowitz Honors Faculty. A state spokesperson responding to inquiries about Rabinowitz’s placement on the Gaming Facility Location Board stated “there are not any points” together with his seating on the company panel.
