Cuomo watch: Casino strategy falls into place

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's casino strategy has been falling into place so far. The governor -- after changing his gambling plans a couple of times -- was pushing a three-upstate-casino proposal most of this year, but shifted to four last week.

Meanwhile, Cuomo has neutralized potential opponents in a casino referendum: Indian nations. This spring, Cuomo signed revenue-sharing agreements with three tribes to protect their casinos from new competition. The deep-pocketed Oneida and Seneca nations could have bankrolled a "No" vote campaign in a statewide casino referendum planned for this fall.

The agreements also effectively reduced the state's siting options for new casinos to the Southern Tier, Catskills and the Capital region.

-- Yancey Roy