By Matthew Adarichev
On May 23rd, the Nassau County Legislature voted 17-1 to lease the area of the Nassau Hub to the Las Vegas Sands Corporation for 99 years. The Sands Corporation is expected to develop a casino (or, in politically correct terminology, an “entertainment complex”) on the land.
I want to thank Democratic Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton for being the sole voice of reason in the Legislature. But to the other 17 legislators—minus Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams, who recused himself—what the hell were you thinking?
Did it ever occur to you that this casino is being built within walking distance of four educational facilities, two of which educate kids as young as 14? How do you justify building a casino next to tens of thousands of impressionable and at-risk youth?
Which is to say nothing of the mother, husband, and sister that must watch with grief as their family sinks into gambling, debt, and despair. Just like in other areas with casinos, this casino is going to drastically increase the incidence of gambling disorders and its associated maluses.
Not to mention, all the domestic violence, theft, prostitution that casinos bring. I am disappointed, though not at all surprised, that the twelve faux “tough-on-crime” Republicans in the Legislature are now endorsing openly pro-crime policies.
Then there is the issue of congestion. Any regular user of the Hempstead Turnpike can assure you the road isn’t ready for additional burdens. Get ready for even slower taxis, longer police response times, and getting to work late. This is to say nothing of the thousands daily who will be flying into JFK and LaGuardia to gamble.
But of course, the discussion always comes back to jobs. Supporters bring up the potential jobs this casino creates, but always fail to mention the caliber of work being promised from this casino.
From ushers, to servers, and even certified card dealers, all the jobs at this casino are minimum-wage, and the last thing we need is a flood of minimum-wage jobs in one of the most expensive counties in New York State. The county doesn’t even need the jobs; we have an unemployment rate of 2.9%2, lower than the national average.
And don’t for a moment think this won’t affect you as a small business owner. Sands will use their enormous relative power in the labor market to steer jobs into their sector. The only way small businesses will be able to compete is by cutting wages, after which Sands will simply further cut theirs, beginning a race to the bottom in wages.
Much is also made of the revenue Sands is promising. Sands will pay $54 million up front, and then gradually pay up to $51.8 million per year to the Nassau government.
It sounds like a lot of money, until you realize the one-off $54 million is 1.3% of Nassau’s yearly budget. And “guaranteed payments” are a fancy way of saying Sands will be paying less taxes than you. We can’t predict this casino’s revenue, but if the revenue is similar to Sands’ Singapore casino3, they would be paying $109 million per year at New York’s tax rate, and that figure would only go up if revenue increased, not stay fixed like the current agreement.
Let me be as clear as I possibly can. Nassau taxpayers, struggling with inflation, are paying more taxes than this multibillion dollar corporation. Burdened Nassau business owners with a few employees are paying more in taxes than this multibillion dollar corporation. And Sands will be paying a fixed rate for 99 years. You are getting played.
This casino is going to be a disaster for Hempstead-Uniondale. Small businesses snuffed out, wages crashing through the floor, crime going up, and the continued cultural and societal degradation of the county, with the taxpayer’s dignity in tatters. Somehow, of all the wonderful things that we could have built on the Nassau Hub, we ended up with a gambling house.
The land may already be leased to Sands, but the corporation still needs to obtain a license to operate a casino from the New York State Gaming Commission. I urge all decent Nassau residents to call the office at (518) 388-3300 or email them at info@gaming.ny.gov to register your discontent. I know I will be doing so.
Make no mistake: we, the casino opposition, will not be laying down our arms and surrendering—even if the Nassau Legislature has stabbed us in the back.