Poll: Most New Yorkers favor legal casinos

A majority of New Yorkers support legalizing full casinos in the state, which would end the exclusive rights of Native American tribes, a poll showed Wednesday.

A Quinnipiac University poll found that 56 percent of registered voters support allowing Atlantic City and Las Vegas-style casinos in the state, while 37 percent oppose them. A majority of the 1,016 polled also said they believed casinos would both boost the economy and increase gambling addiction.

Last month, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the state should take another look at its ban on casinos. Overturning it would require a constitutional amendment.

The poll results provided a backdrop to a Senate hearing in Albany on tribes' role in economic development. While most of Wednesday's testimony didn't deal directly with casinos, leaders and representatives from three upstate tribes stressed that they were among the largest employers in their regions and that they have invested in the region even as other companies have relocated.

Richard Nephew, chairman of Seneca Nation Council, said they opposed the operation of casinos within their exclusivity zone, which was established as part of a 2002 revenue-sharing agreement with the state. The zone includes all or parts of 16 counties in Western New York.

"No one's supposed to be operating any casinos or gaming in the exclusivity zone and of course were it to be violated it's a simple violation of our compact," Nephew said. "We'll keep out side of the agreement and we hope New York State keeps its side of the agreement."

The Senecas have paid the state and local governments $475.2 million as part of the agreement, but have held back $310 million of payments in an ongoing dispute over the installation of video lottery terminals in the zone, which the Senecas say violated the compact. If casinos were legalized through a constitutional amendment, Nephew said the tribe would no longer be obligated to make payments to the state.

James Featherstonhaugh, president of the New York Gaming Association, a group lobbying to allow non-Indian casinos in the state, said Wednesday's poll was encouraging. "Allowing us to effectively compete with neighboring states by allowing table games will not only help us recapture the up to $5 billion that leaves our state every year, but will also bring thousands of jobs and billions in revenue to our struggling economy," Featherstonhaugh said in a statement.

Shinnecock Indian Nation chairman Randy King was scheduled to testify Wednesday but canceled. The tribe is considering sites at Belmont racetrack and in Suffolk County for a casino.