When I was speaking with Saratoga Springs Police Chief Chief Chris Cole about the salaries in his department last week, we got off on a tangent about casino gambling in the state and I've been meaning to put it in a blog post.

"I don't think there is any doubt it would increase the demand on us," he said about casino gambling.

It's something intuitive, I suppose, but not something I had considered in this whole conversation about casino gambling.

"Criminals follow money," Cole said.

Not that this is an immediate consideration. According to Paul Post's recent story on the racinos' opposition to the whole idea of table games in New York, the issue probably won't make it to the ballot until late 2013.

However, it will be interesting to see if something like the VLT funds takes place on an expanded scale to offset some of the local costs of casinos (ostensibly the reason for local VLT funds).