Local TV is not known for much enterprise reporting these days. But this piece by the NBC affiliate in New York offers some good insight into the influence peddling that is behind the drive to legalize casinos.
The NBC piece focuses on Genting executive Christian Goode’s effort to bring a casino to Queens, N.Y. Goode is following the same formula used in other states: buy up influential lobbyists, throw around lots of money, and watch lawmakers dance like puppets on a string. (The gambling lobby is also a growing force at the federal level.)
Genting has spent $1.6 million on lobbying in New York since 2010, NBC reports. More importantly, the Malaysian company has hired the right the lobbyists with the right connections to the right people, as detailed here by The New York Times. They include a former top aide to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a former attorney for Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, Mayor Bloomberg’s former campaign manager, and a long-time adviser to Cuomo. Those are the lawmakers who will essentially drive the entire process to undo the state Constitution in order to legalize commercial casinos in New York.
“What this company has done is hire lobbyists who are close to every single powerful decision-maker who might be involved in the ultimate decision,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause NY, a nonprofit watchdog for money in politics. (Millions were also recently spent on lobbyists to legalize casinos in Massachusetts.)
Goode told NBC: “We supply entertainment that people demand.” What a farce. The average person in Queens is not calling their representatives or holding rallies demanding a casino in their back yard. Likewise, lawmakers refuse to examine the social and economic costs that come with gambling. Instead, lawmakers bend to the will of the deep pocketed casino interests at the expense of their constituents.
