Sigh….the obstructionists win again(for now)
Posting again from my hideout in suburban Buffalo, the City Where Great Ideas Go To Die. Whether it be a signature bridge, major waterfront zoo, or Bass Pro on Lake Erie(gee, a fishing store on a Great Lake - who would kill that idea). Yep we would here in Buffalo.
And now it’s the Seneca Casino in downtown Buffalo that the nitwit, crackpot obstructionists kill off. Once again a vocal minority throws around a ton of lawsuits to stop something positive in the community until one of them actually succeed in destroying it.
What the hell does this have to do with us? I don’t know, part of me is venting against morons who are doing their damndest to maintain Buffalo’s negative status nationwide. But I suppose it’s also a reminder to me of all the casinos that we’ve passed by or stopped into on our travels.
We don’t gamble…stop that, we gamble very little and certainly don’t make a point to do so on any of our sports roadies. Yet we’ve managed to stumble into quite a few along the way. Two in St. Louis….one in KC……Vegas obviously….and a stop at the Greektown Casino in Detroit the night before the final stop(12/02) @ Ford Field where I hit a slot jackpot for $2500 - and haven’t bothered to hit one since. And those are casinos I remember being in, frankly.
And it hits me as I write this just what a nonsense position these anti casino folk have taken on this issue. Allow me to tear it to shreds using the above.
“A casino will only draw locals, not tourists” - Bullsh*t, I’ve been to more casinos than I can think of as a tourist visiting a town. You know darn well people who come into Buffalo from the outside will most certainly hit that place. A businessman, a gang of visiting team’s fans going to a Sabres/Bills game…they’re heading there. You know it, I know it. Cut the crap.
And as far as locals go, the ones who will lose the most business aren’t other restaurants, bars and such. It’s those bingo halls, Monte Carlo nights at the church, and the scratch off tickets at the Wilson Farms that’ll take a hit. Tit for tat, simple as that.
The strange thing is, amidst all of the talk in the aftermath of Judge Skretny’s decision no one has brought up a major factor as to why the demand for casinos in Western New York came to be. The photo below will be a huge hint.
When Casino Niagara opened late in 1996 it was a smashing success raking in the coin by the millions. No doubt in huge part thanks to all of the Western New Yorkers who took their hard earned money made on this side of the border and spent in Canada.
The casino was a great addition to the Falls, so much so that they added a permanent one nearby, and opened a smaller operation in Fort Erie as well. And hence came the idea of “Hey, why not one over here! If people are going to spend casino money, why not build one here so the money stays here!!!”
Yep I know, the deal that the City of Buffalo made with the Senecas and the state stinks. In a perfect world(which the delusional obsNIMBYwhackos see as the only solution possible) the city would see more than the 5 to 7mil that they’re supposed to take in.
But remind me again how much money did the City of Buffalo and the City of Niagara Falls get from the Canadian casinos when they were the only place to go locally? Empty pockets….zero dollars…..nil….nada….zilch….nothing….which is less than a few mil last I checked.
It’s this line of thinking, the notion to keep dollars where they are made that got Detroit it’s three casinos, and when people’s heads clear it will be this line of thinking that gets Buffalo it’s newest attraction. One that brings in people from out of the area, one that increases options for entertainment in downtown Buffalo, and one that keeps some of the dollars here in the area.
A privately financed 330m$ investment at no cost to the taxpayer? On land that no businessman would touch with a ten foot pole? And we’re saying no????
Welcome to Buffalo, what can I tell you….where great ideas go to die.
Peter Farrell
Joe Barton Says:July 9th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Do you have the brains of a gnat?
So the “economic benefit” of the casino is for the 2 years it takes to build it. After that it becomes a cost to the city it is located in, oh thats right all the studies that have been done about other cities and their casinos are totally wrong.
If you think the people are be obstructionist you do definetly live a sheltered existence.
Peter Farrell Says:July 9th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
No, but I’ve reeled you in.
All I’m saying is that we’re better off keeping a teeny weeny amount of money here than watching all of it go elsewhere.
And I would hardly consider someone who has been to every state in this country save Alaska to be sheltered. Would you?
Wait, you’ve answered that.
Next!
twoeightnine Says:July 10th, 2008 at 12:55 am
My parents spend two weeks each summer (one at the start and one at the end) camping at Turning Stone with 8 other couples. They also do one of those hotel and dinner packages at Casino Niagara twice a year. And they’re not even big gamblers. So it’ll definitely be all locals…
They opened the Finger Lakes Racino down my road four years ago. It turned a dying racing operation facing bankruptcy into a multi-million dollar tourist attraction that is one of the hearts of the Finger Lakes revival. It’s busy 7 days a week, don’t even try getting a machine on Saturday night, with people from all over the state and farther. A couple of new restaurants have opened as well as a hotel. Man I hate the damage that place has done.
Peter Farrell Says:July 10th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Thank you 289!
I have a similar story to yours as well.
Back in the mid 70’s Tioga Park was opened up on a tract of land about halfway between Elmira and Binghamton on the I-86/Rt. 17. The place lasted about 18 months thanks to bad management and horrible location.
For three decades I would ride by there and shake my head at the dilapidated eyesore that it was and think-”wtf were they thinking when they built it”. Here and there someone would try to run something there(gee, a weekly farmer’s market, how nice!). But it wasn’t until the state recently allowed gaming at race tracks that the renamed “Tioga Downs” came back to life, and how it did. All that info that you discuss about Finger Lakes track is happening there as well. I go by there now and still shake my head….at the revitalization of the venue and the complete turnaround it has made.
Look, I know it will largely be locals that visit, but don’t bs yourself into thinking people won’t come from out of town to see and enjoy it. They will, not as much as we’d like, but they will. And most importantly, some of the cash will stay here. And that reason alone(not the hope that a casino would revitalize anything) is the main reason people are fighting to have one to begin with. It’s about keeping money that would go elsewhere without a local casino here in WNY and adding another great attraction to the area. Hellooooooooooooooo!!!!