Tuesday's vote on casinos in Saratoga Springs was unanimous, but its impact certainly isn't. Both sides have issued statements supporting the vote and claiming it means different things. 

Statement from Destination Saratoga Co-Chair Dan Hogan

“Destination Saratoga applauds Mayor Joanne Yepsen and the City Commissioners for passing a resolution that is exactly what we've been calling for throughout this debate: reserving judgment on expanded gaming at Saratoga Casino and Raceway until the state's request for applications is released and the details of the casino's bid are finalized. Any action before that time would be based on speculation and conjecture, and would be contrary to the best interests of Saratogians.

“We wholeheartedly agree with the City Council that Saratoga is a special place and that a Las Vegas style casino has no place in our city. We also know that Saratoga has successfully hosted a casino for the last ten years, and the benefits of that relationship are evident on Broadway and beyond. We are confident that once the facts are available, the city council and the public alike will see the benefits of an enhanced Saratoga Casino and Raceway and also recognize the negative consequences of sending those benefits to another nearby community, and the choice will be clear. We applaud our elected officials for standing up to baseless fear mongering and waiting until all facts are available to make this critical decision on behalf of their constituents.”

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                                                 Saratogians Against Vegas-style Expansion

SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL REJECTS CASINO EXPANSION

Saratoga Springs, NY - The Saratoga Springs City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution opposing casino gambling expansion in the city at a packed City Council meeting on Tuesday night. Over 300 people attended the meeting, which was moved to the City’s Music Hall to accommodate the huge crowd. This resolution negates one that was passed by the City Council in December 2012 that favored a casino.

Calling the divisive debate over gambling expansion “the issue of the decade,” Mayor Joanne Yepsen, introduced her resolution saying,” After months of due diligence it is time to act.”

“The full support of the City Council rejecting a casino shows clear vision for the future of Saratoga Springs and it recognizes the fact that continuing our economic successes, preserving our quality of life and moving forward in a positive way that focuses on maintaining a strong downtown, protecting the horse industry, guarding the event spaces and maintaining control of our own economic future does not align with the goals of a casino,” said Colin Klepetar, co-founder of SAVE Saratoga. “We are pleased to see that the Council did not decide to wait for the RFA. It shows they understand the RFA will hold no surprises and they have presented a united front against the Casino. We hope that the Gaming Commission, the siting board and the Governor have finally realized that our community does not support siting a casino here and we hope that they will respect our collective voice.”

“We are grateful for the fact that Commissioner Scirocco brought a resolution to the table, Mayor Yepsen for building a consensus on this historic issue with her resolution, and the rest of the Commissioners for supporting the community,” said Klepetar.

In their comments before the vote, the commissioners acknowledged that the vast majority of their constituents were against casino expansion. Commisioner Scirocco held up a stack of emails saying, “it’s clear to me that the citizens of Saratoga are against it.” 

SAVE spokesperson Sara Boivin commended the commissioners for representing the 58% of voters who opposed gambling expansion in the November election. She said, “The city council gave its citizens a voice where we had none.”  As for Albany, Boivin noted,  “The Council has sent a clear message to the Siting Board in Albany, that a casino has no place in Saratoga Springs.”

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LOCAL ARTISTS CELEBRATE SAVE SARATOGA EFFORT AS FOCUS SHIFTS TO ALBANY

Saratoga Springs, NY – In advance of SAVE Saratoga’s March 6^th fundraiser at Putnam Den, local artists have stepped forward to add their voice and talent to the movement. 

“Local artists have been a part of SAVE Saratoga from its inception,” said Colin Klepetar of SAVE Saratoga, “from the design of our logo, to the set up and execution of Thursday night’s fundraiser at Putnam Den, to our continuing efforts to in Albany.”  The SAVE fundraiser, ‘Casino Blues Bash’, will feature artists MaryLeigh Roohan, Freewater, The Dirty Harri Band and Bo Peep and The Funk Sheep.  All local performers donating their time and talent because they believe they have a stake in whether a casino license is granted here in Saratoga Springs.  “For me, quality of life doesn’t mean more gambling culture in Toga,” said Jonathon Newell, leader of The Dirty Harri Band.  “Who is casino expansion good for?  Statistics clearly show the ‘house’ wins.  The community loses.  And we all, 58.2%, already said we don’t need it, our Mayor and City Council have unanimously rejected it – it should be crystal clear to the Siting Board in Albany – we don’t want it.  They still gonna try and get it over on us?  No way!” said Rob Wright of Freewater. 

Also, performing his original song on Thursday night, “The Casino Blues,” Clem Marino adds his voice and song dedicated to the movement.  “I was moved by the recent events of Proposition 1 and how it may affect local host communities, specifically my hometown of Saratoga Springs. I wrote ‘Casino Blues’ to honor Pete Seeger who set the standard for musicians and artists using their talents to further a worthy cause.”  Marino recorded his song at a local studio, JBrown Noise, owned by Jason Brown who recorded free of charge. 

From recording artists, to graphic artists, to cartoonists, SAVE Saratoga has been buoyed by the visual and vocal representation of the citizen’s struggle against a state imposed casino.  Russ Pettinger, a local landscape architect, took his frustration and turned it into a cartoon series that has been seen across social media.  “I've created over 30 cartoons discussing salient topics regarding a casino coming to town.  The very idea of bringing a casino to Saratoga Springs was so appalling to me that I tried to create a metaphor to fully describe my feelings of helpless indignation and outrage.  My goal is to encourage the undecided to learn more about the subject, to entertain those who oppose full gaming and to irritate those who would risk our city in favor of personal short-term profits.  If I can provide information and promote discussion in a thought-provoking way, I've done my job.”

More local artists join the movement each day seeking opportunity to plug themselves in in the most supportive and impactful way.  Benj Gleeksman, SAVE logo designer, has volunteered his talent more than once saying, “my family and I have strong feelings against bringing a new casino into Saratoga, so I'm always more than happy to help SAVE with their design needs.”

Amejo Amyot, Ph.D., founder, Arts district on Beekman describes her motivation for organizing around this issue,  “We must not compromise our morals and ethics for financial gain nor do anything that endangers our well being for financial security.  When we sell ourselves, we lose all connection to our creative, imaginative selves.”

Local Saratoga Artists who have contributed to the SAVE Saratoga effort to date:

Clem Marino

Jason Brown

Hudson photo

Megan Mumford

Charlie Samuels

Rob Wright and Freewater

The Dirty Harri Band

Annie and the Hedonists

Russ Pettinger

Benj Gleeksman

Bo Peep and the Funk Sheep

Amejo Amyot, Ph.D.

MaryLeigh Roohan

SAVE Saratoga Casino Blues Bash Fundraiser

Thursday, March 6th 7pm at Putnam Den

Celebrate our community stand against casino expansion!

Come out in your red to show your support, donate your cash and party with some of the best bands in town!

MaryLeigh Roohan Clem Marino sings the Casino Blues Freewater Bo Peep and the Funk Sheep

$10 cover ($5 with student ID)

SAVE tshirts, signs and concert posters for sale! All proceeds benefit SAVE's efforts to STOP THE CASINO.

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SARATOGA SPRINGS >> Dueling resolutions opposing expanded casino gambling are expected to be merged by Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
City officials also confirmed that they had received plans for the proposed expansion at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway, but would not make them available for public viewing.
Public Works Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco said Friday he was sponsoring a resolution drafted by Saratogians Against Casino-style Expansion opposing locating a full-scale gaming facility in the Spa City.
“I want a strong resolution that says ‘no’ to any expansion over there,” Scirocco said Friday. He is not interested in waiting until the state issues its Request for Applications that will outline exactly what a full-scale casino would entail. “If we want to have any impact we need to move now.”
He was making some changes to the drafted SAVE resolution, but said it largely coincided with his views on the subject.
At the same time, Mayor Joanne Yepsen also sponsored a resolution, but wouldn’t specify Friday exactly what it said and it was not released as part of the preliminary City Council agenda. Friday afternoon at about 3:30, the resolution was still being circulated in City Hall looking for edits, additions and comments from the City Council.
Yepsen said Friday that she expected the two resolutions to be merged. When asked if they were mutually exclusive, she said “Oh gosh no, they’re very similar.”
Scirocco said he would be willing to merge the two resolutions, provided it took a strong stance against expansion.
City Council members Michele Madigan and John Franck said Thursday they would prefer to wait for the RFAs to be released from the state, and Commissioner Christian Mathiesen said that while he was personally opposed to casino gambling in the state, he would accept a modest expansion at the casino provided it came with city oversight and provisions to protect city interests.
Still, he said he supported bringing the SAVE resolution to the table, though “I don’t agree with all of their concerns.”
Friday, city officials also confirmed they had received plans from the Saratoga Casino and Raceway showing the expansion they have planned, but they did not make the plans available for public review.
City Attorney Sarah Burger said the city only had one copy of the plans and “we are looking at it.”
When pressed to allow the documents to be reviewed, she said “would you like to go into my office and take the documents off of my desk to look at? Or any of these other desks for that matter?”
Shortly thereafter, Yepsen said “we’re not trying to not be transparent” but they could not let the plans leave City Hall. She then said they could be reviewed, but City Planner Kate Maynard was not available and Yepsen did not know where the plans were.
Saratoga Casino and Raceway is not required to get approvals from the Planning Board or city in order to move forward with its expansion. 

Public Works Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco doesn’t want a casino in the Spa City.

In a Reader’s View submitted to The Saratogian, the city council member argues that the casino would threaten downtown businesses, the City Center as an event space and the Saratoga Racecourse through competition.

“Our racetrack charges admissions and patrons pay to park; how will the racetrack fare against the free admission, parking and beverages that the casino offers?” he asked, and though I’m sure no one was ever kept out by the $3 admission, his point is taken.

“By allowing a casino resort into our city we are giving up any say or control and we are inviting subsidized competition to unfairly challenge our historic racetrack, downtown, and city center and will likely disrupt the quality of life and uniqueness that we are charged with protecting as elected officials.”

He isn’t the first City Council member to submit Reader’s Views on the subject. In January, both Michele Madigan and Christian Mathiesen submitted their views, though neither took as definite a stance as Scirocco did.

Two common themes flow through all three of their arguments: more development at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway create a small, manufactured casino complex with shops, restaurants and a hotel for downtown establishments to compete with; and the city needs more control over what goes on at the casino.

“Without some control and oversight over what could eventually be built in our city, it will be difficult to support expanded casino gambling within our boundaries,” Madigan wrote in her letter.

Mathiesen wrote something a little more firm, and also invoked the need for guaranteed money from the state as a hosting community.

“Without ironclad guarantees of annual income for the city and county, consistency with our comprehensive plan and city council and land-use board control to limit the Saratoga Casino and Raceway to a moderately expanded stand-alone facility, I cannot support their proposal.”

Mathiesen and Scirocco’s thinking was the same on that point too.

Scirocco said, basically, that the money that the city could take in as a host community can’t be counted on, pointing to state money for hosting Video Lottery Terminals the city saw evaporate in 2009 and with it, funding for 10 cops and as many firefighters.

Of course, all of their discussion of whether to allow a casino may be a moot point, regardless, since as he points out: “Unlike Massachusetts, the New York State Gaming and Development Act was written without home rule; meaning that the Massachusetts voters have the power to veto any proposed casino resort in their community and we do not.”

Commissioner Scirocco's letter