The Saratogian
Saratoga County officials approved on Tuesday evening a resolution urging the Legislature to make Saratoga Casino & Raceway one of the seven places where expanded gaming is permitted.
“The Casino and Raceway have been extremely successful for Saratoga County,” county official Ryan Moore said on Tuesday before the vote.
The Saratoga Springs City Council approved a similar resolution at its meeting, also on Tuesday.
If a full casino did come to Saratoga County, an increase in host community benefits for both the county and the city would be expected to help provide for the extra costs a casino could bring the community.
Among other things, those benefits will help pay for extra police and highway maintenance.
The Saratoga Casino and Raceway at Jefferson and Crescent avenues opened in 2004 and offers harness horse racing and 1,700 video lottery terminals.
The earliest a change could be approved is November 2013, during a ballot referendum.
If the state’s voters approve full casino gambling, raceway officials are prepared to propose a $40 million expansion to the current facility, which will include a hotel and events center, and 15,000 more square feet of casino space.
The racino currently employees over 600 people, and if it becomes a full casino, raceway officials says it will mean about 400 additional jobs.