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Posted on: June 14, 2023, 03:43h.
Final up to date on: June 13, 2023, 05:10h.
Vernon Downs On line casino Lodge has been afforded the lifelines its proprietor Jeff Gural has sought by the New York State Meeting. The tax reduction measures now await New York Gov. Hochul’s (D) signature.
Gural final month mentioned he could be compelled to shut the historic harness racetrack except state lawmakers in Albany supplied the property with substantial tax financial savings. These financial savings are anticipated to return via Meeting Invoice 6144-A, which is designed to right an oversight on Vernon Downs’ gaming tax charge incurred again in 2020.
It was practically three years in the past beneath the Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) administration that upstate casinos and racinos had been afforded a tax break on their slot and video gaming revenue. Cuomo allowed the racinos, which solely function video lottery terminals (VLTs) on the New York Lottery’s behalf, to hunt a 7% tax discount on their gross VLT revenue for 5 years.
All however Vernon Downs was afforded such a tax discount. Cuomo’s workplace didn’t present a cause publicly for Vernon Downs’ petition being denied, however Gural later known as the then-governor “a bully.” AB 6144-A cures the scenario and brings the upstate racinos into uniformity concerning their VGT tax charges.
Together with Vernon Downs, Gural’s New York actual property empire consists of the Tioga Downs On line casino Resort, one in all 4 full-scale Las Vegas-style business on line casino resorts in upstate New York. Gural moreover controls the Meadowlands Racetrack and its FanDuel Sportsbook in East Rutherford, NJ. The FanDuel Sportsbook is the top-grossing sportsbook in New Jersey.
Jobs Saved
Gural mentioned he misplaced about $2 million final 12 months maintaining Vernon Downs open. The racino’s increased tax charge restricted its capacity to compete with the opposite New York casinos and racinos by way of free play promotions and different incentives.
Final month, Vernon Downs filed a Employee Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the New York Division of Labor. WARN filings are required at the least 60 days prematurely of when a big employer expects to make appreciable adjustments to its workforce.
Gural mentioned all 250 jobs at Vernon Downs had been at stake, as with no tax break, the racino would shut completely. However with Hochul anticipated to signal AB 6144-A, these jobs are anticipated to be preserved.
I’m happy to have been a co-sponsor of Meeting Invoice 6144-A, which is able to right an oversight and create uniformity inside the on line casino trade in New York State,” mentioned Assemblyman Brian Miller (R-New Hartford). “Vernon Downs has been a staple locally and it will present the workers and their households some sense of stability.”
Gural had earlier mentioned that Vernon Downs “supplied jobs for 250 neighborhood members, $13 million in tax income for New York State, however misplaced $2 million. COVID decimated our enterprise and with out modest tax reduction, we will now not function.”
A separate measure designed to help Vernon Downs, Senate Invoice 4817, was additionally despatched to Hochul’s desk by the Meeting. That invoice restores the racino’s 6.4% agent fee from the lottery, which was suspended in 2020 after Vernon Downs failed to take care of at the least 90% of its 2016 workforce.
State to Monitor Racino
In change for the tax reduce and resumption of the agent fee, assuming Hochul indicators the measures into regulation, Vernon Downs might want to reveal to New York lawmakers how the financial savings are defending jobs and offering capital for the racino to show round its financial woes.
“[Vernon Downs] shall present an preliminary report back to the governor, the speaker of the meeting, the short-term president of the Senate, and the [New York Gaming] fee detailing the projected use of funds ensuing from such tax adjustment,” AB 6144-A reads.
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