This article is another frustrating example of how WNY politicians would rather see the region continue with the status quo of squalor, rather than accept new ideas and business models into the area in the hope of bolstering a depressed economy. Seems to me since the people in power are at risk of losing their own political standing, they wish to join forces in an effort to squash people that are actually willing to invest in the community.
well, FUCK YOU Giambra, Brown and Golisano. Thanks for thinking its ok to continue with the way things are.
but to use the casino to fix the city I think might be a bad idea, I think fixing the city and then bringing in a casino would avoid a lot of the potential problems people think casinos bring.
And their beef is that the Seneca wants the city to foot the $6 millon road fix deal. It sounds like a lot, but not really when you look at the Niagara casino payed the city of Niagara $11 million last year alone. Oh no! Not revenue! What would we do with that?!! And jobs??? Come now, let’s be realistic.
What was on the news is that Pataki wants to use that money to pay for some urban development plan in NF, and the citizens are upset because they want the money to do other things with. So the Seneca gave the money, but NYS is hanging onto it - not the casino’s fault.
Well the biggest mistake ever made in the city was not putting UB in the downtown area…with the dorms, restaurants, malls, etc that would have developed around it would have sustained the economy very well.
The Casino is only going to create more problems for this city.
It is a fully enclosed entertainment facility designed to keep people inside for ALL purposes including entertainment, living (hotel), eating, etc. It is designed so that visitors lose track of time (no clocks or windows) and do not consider leaving.
This prevents from businesses in the area seeing much, if any new business as a result of the casino.
One of the parts of this deal that not many people know about is that we are only getting a small percentage of the income, and we are going to be required to reconstruct the entire road system surrounding the casino.
Also, nothing about this Casino says “new money”. Is someone going to come to buffalo now that we have a casino who wasn’t previously thinking about coming to buffalo? This makes no sense when there is a Mini Las Vegas 45 mins to the North alongside one of the seven wonders of the world.
This is only going to shift local money from local business owners to the casino… what does this do to the city?
What about this Casino will help Buffalo? “It’s something new” is not a valid reason.
Giambra is only jumping on the boat because he needs to win some people back to pursue his future political career. Same thing with the tollbooths.
the casino wont nessesarily stimulate the surrounding businesses per say but it will have its own effects on the economy by generating a large amount of needed jobs that will pay very well for the area thus allowing more goods to be sold outside of the casino.
I fully support the casino downtown, for the simple reason that downtown development has to start SOMEWHERE. 6 million for roads? Who cares. Niagara Falls take last year alone was 12 million. The fact that they can’t agree with Pataki on how to spend it is hardly the casino’s fault.
Take the casino, add in bass pro, plus the big bucks we’re getting for waterfront re-development from the Niagara Power Project and I think we’re on the verge of a major shift in downtown.
The winner for the worst anti casino arguement has to go to the people crying about the property being removed from the property tax roles. The 9 acre site downtown brought in a whopping $31000 last year. Last time I checked, 12 million > 31000.
Joe, you have a point about it being better if they fixed downtown first. The problem is Buffalo has been trying to “fix” downtown since it started to decline all those decades ago when the steel industry left. Unless you have a concrete plan of how you’re going to start turning it around before the casino, you’re just part of the “stuck in the mud” politics that make up Buffalo.
right now i have to drive far to gamble, meaning i lose money on gas to get there as well as the money i lose actually gambling…
but if it were in buffalo, i wouldnt have to drive as far to gamble…saving me gas money, but making it easier to get there…so i prob would lose money gambling more frequently…
The billionaire says a downtown casino will only take money out of the pockets of Western New Yorkers with very little in return. “The marketplace for the new casino is Buffalo and its suburbs. It’s not intended to draw from Rochester or other parts of the state or Pennsylvannia,”
yeah it’s going to create jobs, but In my opinion Casinos are bad way to fix an economny problem. I don’t think having the casino consume more of the money in Buffalo is going to help anything. Not to mention crime rates increasing.