STATEMENT–Henry Wojtaszek, CEO & President, Western Regional Off-Track Betting<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest scheme by the Senecas and some New York State government officials to place a stealth casino in the Rochester area should be a non-starter for residents, community leaders and elected officials. Many of the more than 400 jobs here at Batavia Downs would be in jeopardy if a Rochester area casino opened, and the millions of dollars in revenue we send to 15 counties and the cities of Buffalo and Rochester would be drastically cut. There are already ten gaming facilities less than 100 miles in any direction from Rochester, that\u2019s the definition of saturation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three VLT facilities (Batavia Downs, Finger Lakes Gaming and Hamburg Gaming) paid $140 Million dollars in combined taxes to New York State last year, that is more than the Senecas did. What is the point of putting yet another facility in the region? No major decision like this should ever be made without robust public input and a comprehensive economic impact analysis. When you see this type of secret top-down governing from our elected officials it is fair to question their motives and who they are really serving. We\u2019ve seen this tried before, and the ending should be the same as the previous two failed attempts to open a casino in the Rochester area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STATEMENT–Henry Wojtaszek, CEO & President, Western Regional Off-Track Betting The latest scheme by the Senecas and some New York State government officials to place a stealth casino in the Rochester area should be a non-starter for residents, community leaders and elected officials. Many of the more than 400 jobs here \u2026<\/p>\n