Donald Trump made headlines yesterday by promising to unveil “something very, very big concerning the president of the United States.” Mr. Trump is keeping his “big Obama announcement” under wraps for now, and at least one online gambling operation is taking bets about what presidential surprise the real estate mogul and reality television star has in store. Read More
Mayor Bloomberg is visiting Singapore and Vietnam next week to “deliver a lecture on urban sustainability and deliver awards on behalf of his philanthropic foundation.” He is technically remaining in control of the city during his Asian trip.
Manhattan won’t get a casino if the Legislature’s plan to open seven commercial gambling facilities goes through this year.
Governor Andrew Cuomo on this week’s night of dealmaking and pre-dawn votes in The New York Times: “I failed. I failed. … “My legislative proposals were asking for the moon.”
The Post scores Governor Cuomo had a night of “legislative wins.” “I think legislators heard the message, and I think at the end of the day, the legislators did the right thing.” Read More
A new Siena College poll showed New York voters approve of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s teacher evaluation plan, though support is slipping for his proposed constitutional amendment allowing non-Indian casinos in the state. The governor’s overall approval rating remains high, although his numbers took a bit of a hit since last month. Read More
Online gambling site Bovada.lv is taking bets on what Mitt Romney’s tax rate will be when he finally unveils his returns tomorrow. Bovada is allowing users to bet whether Mr. Romney overstated or understated his tax rate.
As of this morning, Bovada offered moneyline odds of -140 that Mr. Romney’s tax rate will be higher than 15.5 percent. This means people who bet $140 Mr. Romney’s tax rate will be higher than he thought will get winnings of $100. Bovada offered even odds Mr. Romney’s tax rate is less than 15.5 percent.
Mr. Romney has said his rate is “probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything.” Other earners in the top income tax bracket pay as much as 35 percent. Read More
Councilman Domenic Recchia Jr. represents the 47th District, which includes Coney Island, and he has a few concerns about the proposal to put a casino there if Governor Cuomo is successful in his attempt to lift the statewide ban on gambling.
“Everybody’s jumping to put a casino in Coney Island and I’m just saying, ‘Whoah, let’s talk about this,” Councilman Recchia said. Read More
State Senator Diane Savino is not pleased with GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. After watching Mr. Romney’s New Hampshire victory speech, Senator Savino wrote a Facebook post saying, “I sometimes hate this frigging business.” The Politicker talked to Senator Savino this morning to find out why she found Mr. Romney’s speech “offensive” and to get her thoughts on the prospect of a casino in Coney Island, which is part of her seat in the 23rd District.
Senator Savino described Mr. Romney’s speech as “the worst kind of gutter politics.”
“He made direct statements accusing the President of exploiting the politics of envy, the statement that President Obama does not care about America, that President Obama is a socialist. It was really the worst kind of gutter politics,” Senator Savino said. “You want to disagree with President Obama? Fine, but stop trying to insinuate or overtly state that he’s un-American. That’s what I took offense to.” Read More
In his annual State of the State address today, Governor Cuomo outlined his ambitious vision for the future New York State including sweeping campaign finance reform, massive construction projects, an entirely new neighborhood built from scratch on the West Side of Manhattan, legalized casinos and a slew of new social programs. Governor Cuomo described his strategy for 2012 as an effort to build on a first year in office where he changed the culture of Albany from partisanship to constructive cooperation. Read More
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver dropped his longtime opposition to a New York City casino.
Governor Cuomo’s spokesman won’t say why they parked a fleet of vintage gubernatorial limos in front of the Capitol.
Democratic Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson will retire next year, putting the Democrats’ Senate majority in peril. Read More
Amid mounting reports of a troubled relationship between City Hall and the governor’s mansion, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he’d support Governor Andrew Cuomo on two of his main initiatives for next year–pension reform efforts and the push for casino gambling. Mayor Bloomberg commented on both subjects during a press conference after he announced that average life expectancy for New Yorkers has reached an all-time high. Read More
Governor Andrew Cuomo would consider bringing a casino to the five boroughs if he’s able to end New York State’s ban on casino gambling. In an interview with the Daily News, the governor said the Big Apple is one of several locations he’s consider for potential casinos. “I’m not excluding any locations at this time,” Governor Cuomo said. “New York City is a real location. … Albany is a real location. Buffalo is a real location.” Read More
