Located in the heart of Central New York's rolling hills and overlooking historic Vernon Downs Racetrack, Vernon Downs Casino Hotel is your home-away-from-home for a uniquely fun and exciting getaway! There's something for everyone - from an indoor pool for relaxing and great food at our family-friendly restaurants, to conference rooms, banquet facilities and harness race track... it's all here at Vernon Downs Casino Hotel!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Rockokie Continues Thursday Night
The Rockokie Star Contest continues Thursday night with the top 10 singers taking the Ring Eyed Pete's Stage inside the Casino at 6pm.
Here are the Top 10 with their song choices for this week. Remember, the contestants are not only judged by our panel of judges, but also by the audience. So come support your favorite singer!
1. Dorrie Giruzzi - Dreams/Crazy
2. Brian Nelson - Ring of Fire/Good Hearted Woman
3. Edward Foster - Your Cheating Heart/Sweet Caroline
4. Art Newman - I Want You to Want Me/All Right Now
5. Josh Leone - One More Last Chance/Blue Suede Shoes
6. Jeneane Ciancaglini - Rolling in the Deep/Love Me
7. Nikki Edsall - Chain of Fools/Superstitious
8. Denise Lusby - Ain't No Sunshine/Runaway
9. Eva Gigon - Fever/You're No Good
10. Meghan Coe - Landslide/Summertime
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Future is Looking UP at the DOWNS
Vernon Downs Casino & Hotel is looking to fill many positions throughout the facility as they prepare for the upcoming 2012 Harness Racing season.
Vernon Downs will be taking applications immediately and will be holding two Job Fairs on Saturday, March 24 from 2pm to 6pm and on Wednesday, March 28 from 11am to 6pm in the Hotel’s new Event Center.
Vernon Downs is looking to hire people to work in all areas of the operation, which, in turn, will help boost the local economy.
These jobs range from seasonal employees to part-time & full-time positions
According to Vice President and General Manager of Vernon Downs Casino, Scott Freeman, "Vernon Downs has shown significant growth over the past 6 years, and we are proud to be in a position to employ additional local workers who can continue to grow with us."
The property also offers an all-suites hotel and recently expanded Convention Facility that also have job openings.
During the Job Fairs, Department Managers will conduct same-day interviews, with on-the-spot hiring.
Vernon Downs Casino & Hotel kicks off their sixth season of live harness racing on Friday, April 27th with food, family fun and fireworks to cap off the evening.
Monday, March 19, 2012
15 singers advance to Week 3 of Rockokie Star Contest
Here are the 15 singers who have advanced to Week 3 of the Rockokie Star Contest. The next round is Thursday at Ring Eyed Pete's inside the casino beginning at 6pm. The singers are competing for $5,000 in prize money!
1. Meghan Coe
2. Dorrie Giruzzi
3. Brian Nelson
4. Edward Foster
5. Art Newman
6. Josh Leone
7. Jeneane Ciancaglini
8. Nikki Edsall
9. Chenin Hudson
10. Jessie Allen
11. Fred Kelly
12. Cindy Leone
13. Denise Lusby
14. Eva Gigon
15. Jackie Brando
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Opening Round of Rockokie Kicks Off Thursday Night
The first ever Rockokie Star Contest begins Thursday night on the Ring Eyed Pete's Stage at Vernon Downs Casino.
The 20 contestants will be judged not only by three Vernon Downs judges, but by the audience as well.
The contestants with the most votes move on to the next round with five contestants being eliminated each week until the finals on April 20th.
On April 20th, five contestants will perform and one winner will be chosen with the first place prize of $3,000 in cash.
Here are the 20 contestants and the songs they'll be singing this Thursday starting at 6:00pm:
Meghan Coe – “Rolling in the Deep” Adele
Margo Lenweaver – “You and I” Lady Gaga
Denise Lusby – “Something to Talk About” Bonnie Raitt
Chenin Hudson – “Crazy” Patsy Cline
Josh Leone – “Folsom Prison Blues” – Johnny Cash
Alisia Uryniak – “Summertime” Gershwin
Jeneane Ciancaglini – “Walking After Midnight” Patsy Cline
Jessie Allen – “Dreams” Fleetwood Mac
Michelle Meyer – “Black Velvet” Alannah Miles
Dorrie Giruzzi – “Give Me One Reason” Tracy Chapman
Brian Nelson – “Brown Eyed Girl” Van Morrison
Art Newman – “Learn to Fly” Foo Fighters
Alexa Grafmuller – “Landslide” Fleetwood Mac
Peter Dowling – “Evil Ways” Santana
Nicole Edsall – “Mercy” Duffy
Eva Gigon – “Me and Bobby McGee” Janis Joplin
Jackie Brando – “I Hear You Knocking” Wynonna
Fred Kelly – “Bad Moon Rising” CCR
Cindy Leone – “Stand By Me” Ben E. King
Eddie Foster – “That’s All Right Mama” Elvis
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Taking stock in Cuomo's gambling proposal
Original story at The Register Star Online
 |
| Gary Greenberg sits in the kitchen of his home in Valatie with some of the souvenirs from Vernon Downs that he has collected over the years spread out on the table. | David Lee/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers |
By John Mason
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
NEW YORK - Eight words Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants added to the New York State Constitution have lifted the hopes of racetrack owners and betting fans and raised concerns of others about increased gambling and increased competition for American Indian casinos.
The eight words are "and except casino gambling regulated by the state," and they would be added to Article 1, Section 9, Subdivision 1, which lists unpermitted gambling-related activities. Casino gambling would become an exception, meaning that it would be permitted.
Gary Greenberg of Valatie owns about 5 percent of the Vernon Downs harness track in Utica. As an active shareholder, he said, he has been involved in lobbying efforts to change laws to benefit the tracks.
The stock has a sentimental value for Greenberg, who would go to the track with his grandfather.
Greenberg's family have held stock in Vernon Downs for more than half a century. When it was starting out, construction bonds were being sold. Greenberg's grandfather bought some, and they converted into stock.
Those stayed in the family. Then in 1998, when the video lottery terminals were coming in, shares were put up for sale and Greenberg bought some.
He has also been a defender of the rights of shareholders, as Vernon Downs has gone through ownership changes and in and out of bankruptcy.
Vernon Downs is one of nine non-Indian casinos in New York state. It's about 15 miles from Turning Stone, located on the Oneida Indian Reservation.
Turning Stone doesn't pay taxes.
The Indian casinos are allowed to have full table games - the racetrack casinos, or racinos, can only have video lottery terminals, or VLTs.
Gov. Cuomo's proposed amendment would allow a change to the State Constitution to allow non-Indian casinos to have full-table games with dealers.
"Pennsylvania and Connecticut already have this, and Massachusetts just passed a law - they'll have it in a year," Greenberg said.
The bill would go to both houses of the State Legislature this year, and again next year. If it passes both houses in each of the next two years, it would go before the voters as a referendum in November 2013.
"Gov. Cuomo is behind it," Greenberg said. "We're positive it will pass."
Also behind it is the Business Council of New York state.
"Expanding state regulated gaming will give the state's economy a much-needed boost, with significant new private sector jobs and capital investment, and could produce up to $1 billion in new state tax revenues, according to Division of Budget estimates," the council stated in a press release.
"Casino gaming is already a multi-billion dollar industry in the state. The state's nine raceways and video lottery terminal locations employ an estimated 5,000 people and have contributed over $3.55 billion in state tax revenue."
The release predicted the expansion of casino gaming would create thousands of jobs "with a positive impact on travel and tourism."
James Maney, a spokesman for the New York Council on Problem Gambling, said, "We don't take a stand on the expansion of gambling. We will (say that) when there's more opportunity and availability, more people will have problems with it."
New York state, Maney said, needs more prevention, more research, more public awareness about problem gambling.
"There's gambling on every corner already," he said. "Casino gambling is just 1 percent of it. The Internet is the hugest one. Casino gambling is just the introduction of table games; we have slot machines, VLTs, we have electronic table games, roulette, craps, baccarat."
Expansion would allow non-electronic table games, meaning more variety of games, he said. The problem is in the greater availability.
"If you put in a highway, if there's a cliff you put guard rails up," he said. "(With gambling) we don't put in any signs saying 'slow down.' We've got to put in warnings and make sure there's information out there so people can make intelligent decisions."
Greenberg agrees that such advertising is needed.
"We don't want people to spend their whole paychecks," he said. "There's advertising in all the racinos. For people who need help, it's available. The majority come in for fun and entertainment."
In response to Cuomo's speech, a spokesman for the Oneida Indians emailed the following response: "Governor Cuomo presented a very far-reaching and ambitious agenda. We support the governor's goal of revitalizing the upstate economy and creating a more prosperous future for all of our communities. We look forward to working with the administration as a productive partner in building a better New York."
The spokesman indicated that this should not be construed as an endorsement of the expansion of casinos.
Seneca Nation President Robert Odawi Porter said the nation doesn't oppose statewide casino gambling, but expects state lawmakers to honor state law and retain the Nation's 14-county exclusivity zone in Western New York.
"The governor wisely recognizes the economic benefits to New York State of Indian-owned casinos. The Seneca Nation has no quarrel with the governor's goal of bringing this success to other parts of the state," Porter said. "But in the course of doing so, the state must not kill the golden goose that supports the Western New York economy and must recognize our exclusivity zone."
Greenberg also favors exclusivity of a kind - for the state's seven harness tracks, Batavia, Hamburg, Tioga Downs, Vernon Downs, Saratoga, Monticello and Yonkers, as well as two thoroughbred tracks with racinos, Finger Lakes and Aqueduct.
"The nine tracks want non-Indian casinos at their locations," he said. "We're against further locations. We're up against Turning Stone. We've done well, because people want to support Vernon Downs because they do pay taxes."
The casinos, he said, would create thousands of jobs for New York state.
"Between the nine racetracks," Greenberg said, "I think it will bring billions into the state."
Some money, he said, would go to New York state for education, some would go to the track, some would go to agriculture and some would be put away for track improvements, profits and marketing. Some VLT profits are going to breeders, which is good locally.
"Columbia County is becoming an area for breeders of horses; there are a lot of thoroughbreds here," Greenberg said.
"The law would help increase the purses," he said. VLTs, which were added in 2006, helped increase revenues.
"The VLTs have worked well," Greenberg said. "There's no crime. The communities are happy with them. They get a percentage of the profits each year."
The eight words are "and except casino gambling regulated by the state," and they would be added to Article 1, Section 9, Subdivision 1, which lists unpermitted gambling-related activities. Casino gambling would become an exception, meaning that it would be permitted.
Gary Greenberg of Valatie owns about 5 percent of the Vernon Downs harness track in Utica. As an active shareholder, he said, he has been involved in lobbying efforts to change laws to benefit the tracks.
The stock has a sentimental value for Greenberg, who would go to the track with his grandfather.
Greenberg's family have held stock in Vernon Downs for more than half a century. When it was starting out, construction bonds were being sold. Greenberg's grandfather bought some, and they converted into stock.
Those stayed in the family. Then in 1998, when the video lottery terminals were coming in, shares were put up for sale and Greenberg bought some.
He has also been a defender of the rights of shareholders, as Vernon Downs has gone through ownership changes and in and out of bankruptcy.
Vernon Downs is one of nine non-Indian casinos in New York state. It's about 15 miles from Turning Stone, located on the Oneida Indian Reservation.
Turning Stone doesn't pay taxes.
The Indian casinos are allowed to have full table games - the racetrack casinos, or racinos, can only have video lottery terminals, or VLTs.
Gov. Cuomo's proposed amendment would allow a change to the State Constitution to allow non-Indian casinos to have full-table games with dealers.
"Pennsylvania and Connecticut already have this, and Massachusetts just passed a law - they'll have it in a year," Greenberg said.
The bill would go to both houses of the State Legislature this year, and again next year. If it passes both houses in each of the next two years, it would go before the voters as a referendum in November 2013.
"Gov. Cuomo is behind it," Greenberg said. "We're positive it will pass."
Also behind it is the Business Council of New York state.
"Expanding state regulated gaming will give the state's economy a much-needed boost, with significant new private sector jobs and capital investment, and could produce up to $1 billion in new state tax revenues, according to Division of Budget estimates," the council stated in a press release.
"Casino gaming is already a multi-billion dollar industry in the state. The state's nine raceways and video lottery terminal locations employ an estimated 5,000 people and have contributed over $3.55 billion in state tax revenue."
The release predicted the expansion of casino gaming would create thousands of jobs "with a positive impact on travel and tourism."
James Maney, a spokesman for the New York Council on Problem Gambling, said, "We don't take a stand on the expansion of gambling. We will (say that) when there's more opportunity and availability, more people will have problems with it."
New York state, Maney said, needs more prevention, more research, more public awareness about problem gambling.
"There's gambling on every corner already," he said. "Casino gambling is just 1 percent of it. The Internet is the hugest one. Casino gambling is just the introduction of table games; we have slot machines, VLTs, we have electronic table games, roulette, craps, baccarat."
Expansion would allow non-electronic table games, meaning more variety of games, he said. The problem is in the greater availability.
"If you put in a highway, if there's a cliff you put guard rails up," he said. "(With gambling) we don't put in any signs saying 'slow down.' We've got to put in warnings and make sure there's information out there so people can make intelligent decisions."
Greenberg agrees that such advertising is needed.
"We don't want people to spend their whole paychecks," he said. "There's advertising in all the racinos. For people who need help, it's available. The majority come in for fun and entertainment."
In response to Cuomo's speech, a spokesman for the Oneida Indians emailed the following response: "Governor Cuomo presented a very far-reaching and ambitious agenda. We support the governor's goal of revitalizing the upstate economy and creating a more prosperous future for all of our communities. We look forward to working with the administration as a productive partner in building a better New York."
The spokesman indicated that this should not be construed as an endorsement of the expansion of casinos.
Seneca Nation President Robert Odawi Porter said the nation doesn't oppose statewide casino gambling, but expects state lawmakers to honor state law and retain the Nation's 14-county exclusivity zone in Western New York.
"The governor wisely recognizes the economic benefits to New York State of Indian-owned casinos. The Seneca Nation has no quarrel with the governor's goal of bringing this success to other parts of the state," Porter said. "But in the course of doing so, the state must not kill the golden goose that supports the Western New York economy and must recognize our exclusivity zone."
Greenberg also favors exclusivity of a kind - for the state's seven harness tracks, Batavia, Hamburg, Tioga Downs, Vernon Downs, Saratoga, Monticello and Yonkers, as well as two thoroughbred tracks with racinos, Finger Lakes and Aqueduct.
"The nine tracks want non-Indian casinos at their locations," he said. "We're against further locations. We're up against Turning Stone. We've done well, because people want to support Vernon Downs because they do pay taxes."
The casinos, he said, would create thousands of jobs for New York state.
"Between the nine racetracks," Greenberg said, "I think it will bring billions into the state."
Some money, he said, would go to New York state for education, some would go to the track, some would go to agriculture and some would be put away for track improvements, profits and marketing. Some VLT profits are going to breeders, which is good locally.
"Columbia County is becoming an area for breeders of horses; there are a lot of thoroughbreds here," Greenberg said.
"The law would help increase the purses," he said. VLTs, which were added in 2006, helped increase revenues.
"The VLTs have worked well," Greenberg said. "There's no crime. The communities are happy with them. They get a percentage of the profits each year."
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