NEWS
Rensselear Offers 1 Million Annually for Albany Casino Support
The City of Rensselear has offered neighboring Albany a large annual payment in exchange for its support of a casino application. Rensselear expects to make $5.8 million annually in casino receipts if accepted-- and Albany would take $1 million of it each year if it backs the casino push. This would total $10 million over ten years and comes after the casino effort in East Greenbush offered a similar $7 million deal for Albany.
These new negotiations were reported in the Times Union. Albany has not responded to the offer but faces a substantial fiscal hole after its only casino proposal moved to Rensselear. The project is worth $280 million total. The East Greenbush project is endorsed by the Saratoga Harness Racing Inc. and Churchill Downs. Any decision from Albany would have to be approved by the City Council.
The Howe Caverns proposal has local support, including Assemblyman Lopez, Congressman Gibson, Sheriff Desmond, and Senator Seward. While the other sites have picked up endorsements from cities such as Rensselear, Albany, Binghamton, Norwich, and Schenectady, the Howe Caverns site has one endorsement from the the Town of Cobleskill.
These new negotiations were reported in the Times Union. Albany has not responded to the offer but faces a substantial fiscal hole after its only casino proposal moved to Rensselear. The project is worth $280 million total. The East Greenbush project is endorsed by the Saratoga Harness Racing Inc. and Churchill Downs. Any decision from Albany would have to be approved by the City Council.
The Howe Caverns proposal has local support, including Assemblyman Lopez, Congressman Gibson, Sheriff Desmond, and Senator Seward. While the other sites have picked up endorsements from cities such as Rensselear, Albany, Binghamton, Norwich, and Schenectady, the Howe Caverns site has one endorsement from the the Town of Cobleskill.