NY approves tax relief bill for racinos

“I am extremely disappointed that the New York State Assembly failed to come to a compromise with the Senate to pass a bill that would guarantee the survival and future of Vernon Downs,” Gural said in a news release. 

While the revised bill passed by the Senate provided us with less tax relief than we had originally asked for, it was a step in the right direction as I certainly do no want to see 300 people lose their jobs.

Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi also provided a statement, outlining his attempt to save the casino more money.

“Last night, the Assembly passed a major bill to help Vernon Downs, but in my opinion it did not go far enough,” Brindisi said in the release. “That’s why, even though Vernon Downs is not in my Assembly district, I sought approval to race another bill to the Assembly floor before the end of session that would save Vernon Downs even more dollars so the owners would not close the facility. Sadly, this last minute push did not result in passing the second bill.”

Last week, Gural threatened to close Vernon Downs if his tax relief was not passed. In April, the opening of the live harness racing season was delayed for two weeks after claiming to have lost an average of $150,000 since November.