By:  Mario Mancini

The fight against new casinos in New York is being championed by a local university. The president of Hofstra University is urging Long Island lawmakers to nix a plan for Las Vegas Sands Corp. to put a casino at the Nassau Coliseum near its campus — claiming it’ll be more trouble than it’s worth.

“The casino proposed by Las Vegas Sands runs directly counter to the interests of our local population and will create dangers rather than benefits,” Hofstra leader Susan Poser said in draft testimony obtained by The New York Post.

In her stinging 13-page testimony to be presented to Nassau County lawmakers voting on the plan Monday, Poser said a casino on Hempstead Turnpike at the Nassau Hub in Uniondale will trigger intractable problems while draining business from local merchants and hurting disadvantaged minority communities. Poser questioned the integrity of Las Vegas Sands, which has shifted its focus overseas in Asia and is trying to revive a presence in the United States.

“The Nassau Hub is not an appropriate place to site a casino development for a host of reasons,” she said. “Because it would create serious dangers and hazardous conditions for our community – including gambling addiction, crime, traffic congestion, and pollution – I urge the Legislature to vote against the proposed grant of this lease to Las Vegas Sands,” she said.

Poser blasted Las Vegas Sands as being “motivated by short-term profit” to its shareholders rather than the interests of Long Islanders.

“To Las Vegas Sands, we are just another bet placed on a gambling table,” Poser said. “High wins per unit from a casino means high losses for those who go to the casino to gamble, the majority of whom will be repeat players from Nassau County.”

“The area surrounding the Nassau Hub is densely populated by a student population, and multiple studies demonstrate that students are particularly susceptible to gambling addiction,” she said. “I refer to the over 32,000 combined students attending Hofstra University, Nassau Community College, and Kellenberg Memorial High School, which are all literally across the street from the Nassau Hub. If one ventures a few blocks farther, there are additional preschool, primary, and secondary schools, eventually reaching almost 60,000 students within a 6‐mile radius.” .

Poser continued, “Nassau County should not situate a gambling center in a location brimming with young people who are especially predisposed to such risky behavior. As a professional educator, I entreat you to weigh the risks to our youth posed by placing a casino in the heart of a local university community and near many other schools with students ranging from preschool through high school.”

“In regard to casinos, evidence from the experience of others shows that, while there may be some short‐term economic gains, the benefits are outweighed in the long run in an area like Long Island where casinos will shift revenue from existing businesses serving our community,” said Poser.

According to Wikipedia, Las Vegas Sands Corporation is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Paradise, Nevada, United States.