Casino Lobbying Fingerprints on Bill to Speed Up Licensing
Legislation to accelerate New York’s casino process copies a lobbying firm’s draft version nearly word for word.
Chris Bragg and Arabella Saunders · June 5, 2024
![A mostly-empty floor of slot machines at Resorts World Catskills, with one gambler sitting off to the side.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/uDk6xUj7z0OSEfqjDvUMf0vnulNZBM4AF8RNRQbMysk/w:820/h:542/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ydy1jYXNpbm8tZmxvb3IuanBn.jpg)
The casino floor at Resorts World Catskills. | Arabella Saunders
“More and more people are asking me: Why delay?”
—State Senator Joseph Addabbo
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/-UKCkzG-AoHYswtqkYDJPlrxSIxgcW-vNq6e6HntUkE/w:135/h:190/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9IZWFkLXNob3QuanBn.jpg)
Chris Bragg is the Albany bureau chief at New York Focus. He has done investigative reporting on New York government and politics since 2009, most recently at The Buffalo News and Albany Times Union.
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/y3r0zpj-jXjDI-yrI40LvElTKQqXPpToL8S3Q5lmwyI/w:135/h:190/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9OWUZPQ1VTX2ZpbmFsX3dlYjMuanBn.jpg)
Arabella Saunders is a Report for America corps member covering economic development for New York Focus. Her reporting has also appeared in Vice, HuffPost, DCReport, and The Assembly NC.
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