Whenever some pundit suggests that government intervention can heal the economy or some other massive issue I shake my head and wish these people would get out in the real world and see the daily gross incompetence displayed by government. A great example is the Aqueduct VLT(slot machine) parlor that was approved in 2001 that has yet to be opened. If government can not get a minor project right it is doubtful they can succeed and more ambitious projects like the economy or food hygiene.
This project was first approved way back when Monarchos won the Derby, Monarchos now has 6 year old horses racing. The first approval was for MGM Grand to run the slots. Construction actually began in 2002 and the slots were slated to start operations in 2003. Then Pataki came in and shut it down. NYRA needed to prove that it had integrity. This opened up slot grab number two which led into the NYRA scandal period of 2002-2006. Everything from waiters taking tips for primo tables at the Spa to mutuel clerks pocketing till money became a big story in the press. NYRA was bad and someone needed to step in to take over the corrupt racetrack. There might have been some truth the the hype but it was mostly concocted to make the slot hopefuls feel that there was a tremendous opportunity looming to open a casino within the borders of New York City. The bidders smelled NYRA's blood in the water when front page jockey weight scandal headlines loaded the slot waters with scandal chum. This fueled the slots feeding frenzy with multiple rounds of bidding for the slots.
The politicians had a field day as slot grab bidding frenzy was launched every year enabling those in charge to reap the booty of potential operators lining up to get the slots license. Pataki played the field. There was Bruno who secured Magna as a client and turned from an ardent NYRA supporter to a NYRA detractor on a dime. Clint Number Nines primary suitor was R. Fields reality who provided air power during his election bid for governor.
Now it is Sheldon Silver's turn to get sloppy seconds. The cash grab might not be as lucrative this time around but you have to love the chutzpah displayed by Silver launching the Aqueduct slots cash grab for the forth time. The first round was for Pataki, the second round for Bruno, the third was Client number Nines payday now it is Silvers turn to score with another round of kickbacks, free airplane rides, and free dinners as the suitors like up to secure the slot contract. Could they go for round five early next year? Whose turn is it next? Or did they go to the well too many times? Either way as long as Silver and the other connected ones secure their booty who cares about the people or racing.
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Showing posts with label spitzer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spitzer. Show all posts
20 April 2009
16 March 2008
If Spitzer Played Horses He Still Would Be In Office
Obnoxious people not only make bad friends, but they can be a danger to their friends and family. These people need to bring humility and modesty into their lives. Can one think of an activity that has more humbling effects than wagering on horse races? Those with obnoxious, egotistical personalities should be prescribed a steady diet of playing the ponies. Then after a few treatments of lost photo finishes, stewards DQ's and complete non-efforts of odds on picks, the ego-maniac will be a changed person. These self centered people under the horseplayer treatment will slowly mature into more caring friends, awash in post wager despair they will become comforters who can empathize with the troubles of others while thinking beyond the me, myself and I. Racing is a game where self centered over-confidence is quickly dealt with. Do you know someone that thinks they are gods gift to the rest of us? Make a date with them to spend an afternoon at your local OTB or racetrack. Watch their picks run up the track and their bloated egos get stomped like a cockroach caught wandering on the stage of a live performance of riverdance. It could be the best thing you ever did for them.
How about those confident players that wagered hundreds of thousands of dollars that War pass would run third today in the Tampa Bay Derby? Some fool blogger even proclaimed that the Tampa Bay Derby would be a walkover and perhaps Zito should seek out a stiffer test for his champion charge. War Pass competing in the Tampa Bay derby was far removed from the certainty of a rocket scientist passing a 2nd grade arithmetic quiz. What these people missed was that the Tampa Bay Derby was War Pass' first race on a fast track going two turns, his first race over the deep Tampa Bay surface and that he was not feeling well this week with a cold. Not only did War Pass answer one plus one incorrectly on his 2nd grade quiz, but he managed to answer all the questions wrong while finishing last. Over-confidence was vanquished and a large mass of humbleness filled the vacuum for all those that singled him, bridge jumped him and proclaimed him a mortal lock.
How about the famous ego-maniac Spitzer. A man so full of himself that he signed strong anti prostitution legislation a few months ago while being a noted connoisseur of the oldest profession himself. A case of malignant chutzpah so acute that it brought a family, and entire state government to a screeching halt. Spitzer would have found a better fate if he had been playing the horses instead of trying to prosecute its workers. If anybody needed the therapeutic, ego reducing effects of horseplaying it was Spitzer. "Yo Silda War Pass was 2YO champ, won his last race in hand and is lone speed, watch the steam roller bet $4.3K on the nose with $80K to show". Just like that the ego-maniac governor could have been brought back to earth and all issues associated with his delusional superiority complex would have been neutralized. The sixty nine percent of New York voters that checked Spitzer would not look like complete fools and those that donated to his campaign would not be left with out a fixer. Help is available for ego-maniacs if someone will dare to care.
How about those confident players that wagered hundreds of thousands of dollars that War pass would run third today in the Tampa Bay Derby? Some fool blogger even proclaimed that the Tampa Bay Derby would be a walkover and perhaps Zito should seek out a stiffer test for his champion charge. War Pass competing in the Tampa Bay derby was far removed from the certainty of a rocket scientist passing a 2nd grade arithmetic quiz. What these people missed was that the Tampa Bay Derby was War Pass' first race on a fast track going two turns, his first race over the deep Tampa Bay surface and that he was not feeling well this week with a cold. Not only did War Pass answer one plus one incorrectly on his 2nd grade quiz, but he managed to answer all the questions wrong while finishing last. Over-confidence was vanquished and a large mass of humbleness filled the vacuum for all those that singled him, bridge jumped him and proclaimed him a mortal lock.
How about the famous ego-maniac Spitzer. A man so full of himself that he signed strong anti prostitution legislation a few months ago while being a noted connoisseur of the oldest profession himself. A case of malignant chutzpah so acute that it brought a family, and entire state government to a screeching halt. Spitzer would have found a better fate if he had been playing the horses instead of trying to prosecute its workers. If anybody needed the therapeutic, ego reducing effects of horseplaying it was Spitzer. "Yo Silda War Pass was 2YO champ, won his last race in hand and is lone speed, watch the steam roller bet $4.3K on the nose with $80K to show". Just like that the ego-maniac governor could have been brought back to earth and all issues associated with his delusional superiority complex would have been neutralized. The sixty nine percent of New York voters that checked Spitzer would not look like complete fools and those that donated to his campaign would not be left with out a fixer. Help is available for ego-maniacs if someone will dare to care.
11 March 2008
Spitzer used racing to cement his reputation as crime fighter
The New York Attorney Generals office took up interest in racing when the slots were approved. There were many headline grabbing scandals, from the A-One Rocket/Gambling ring indictment, the Mutuel Clerk issue, the Waiter taking big tips front pager and the Jockey weight scandal.
All of these headlines grabbed front page news and were used as leverage to try to discredit NYRA out of the slot casino. In the end they were publicity stints and the only convictions were in the mutuel clerk scandal were 16 clerks were convicted of cheating on their taxes in a scheme were they shorted their till at the racetrack. Spizter spent millions on these crusades and used them to build his reputation as corruption fighting progressive crusader. The New York Times reported one Spitzer racing scandal after another and started to refer to NYRA as the "beleaguered NYRA, "another scandal" The New York Times was doing Spitzers bidding. Was the underlying reason for these crusades just to secure the Aqueduct casino for his Manhattan real estate mogul friend Richard Fields? With the backing of the New York Times and a complete stranglehold on the New York media Spitzer was elected with 69% of the vote, the people fell for what he was selling hook line and sinker.
The people hurt by Spitzer are not just the taxpayers and his family. Those particularly devastated by Spitzer's corruption are those that got caught in the steamroller. How about the life of Braulio Baeza and Mario Scalafani? These two were caught up in the jockey scandal. This scandal was headline news back in 2005 and helped cement Spitzer's reputation as a corruption fighter. However there was no crime, just headlines and a complete misunderstanding of the rules of races. The case was quietly thrown out of court last September after three years of court battles. Costing the taxpayers millions of dollars and ruining the family's of two men.
With the complete ruination of Spitzers career the lesson for the mases is do some research before you vote. Heartfelt commercials should not be the only thing they look at when the examine who they vote for. Spitzer received 69% of the vote and the steamroller only took a little more than a year to expose himself as a arrogant criminal. Someone should have pointed the steamroller to proverb 16:18. Looks like Joe Bruno is going to have to help get the steamroller out of the ditch.
All of these headlines grabbed front page news and were used as leverage to try to discredit NYRA out of the slot casino. In the end they were publicity stints and the only convictions were in the mutuel clerk scandal were 16 clerks were convicted of cheating on their taxes in a scheme were they shorted their till at the racetrack. Spizter spent millions on these crusades and used them to build his reputation as corruption fighting progressive crusader. The New York Times reported one Spitzer racing scandal after another and started to refer to NYRA as the "beleaguered NYRA, "another scandal" The New York Times was doing Spitzers bidding. Was the underlying reason for these crusades just to secure the Aqueduct casino for his Manhattan real estate mogul friend Richard Fields? With the backing of the New York Times and a complete stranglehold on the New York media Spitzer was elected with 69% of the vote, the people fell for what he was selling hook line and sinker.
The people hurt by Spitzer are not just the taxpayers and his family. Those particularly devastated by Spitzer's corruption are those that got caught in the steamroller. How about the life of Braulio Baeza and Mario Scalafani? These two were caught up in the jockey scandal. This scandal was headline news back in 2005 and helped cement Spitzer's reputation as a corruption fighter. However there was no crime, just headlines and a complete misunderstanding of the rules of races. The case was quietly thrown out of court last September after three years of court battles. Costing the taxpayers millions of dollars and ruining the family's of two men.
With the complete ruination of Spitzers career the lesson for the mases is do some research before you vote. Heartfelt commercials should not be the only thing they look at when the examine who they vote for. Spitzer received 69% of the vote and the steamroller only took a little more than a year to expose himself as a arrogant criminal. Someone should have pointed the steamroller to proverb 16:18. Looks like Joe Bruno is going to have to help get the steamroller out of the ditch.
03 January 2008
NYS corruption scorecard
How many ways has the state government compromised NYRA racing? Is it corruption or ineptitude? Why hasn't the media picked up on this story? The VLT's were approved in 2001 for Aqueduct, why haven't they opened yet?
Lets get a scorecard on the state and see if we are dealing with a bumbler or a schemer. With all of these questions someone should be finding the answers.
1) Pataki blocks slots at NYRA for 3 years. -Would not give final approval for unknown reasons- corruption
2) Minor teller/waiter scandals in 2004-2006 initiated by Spitzer forever cloud NYRA as a corrupt organization in media. -both scandals are pure media designed attention getting fiascoes- corruption
3) Multiple franchise racing approval processes started, finished, ignored and started again - ineptitude
4) OTB continues to leach off the racing industry with bloated staff and political patronage jobs- nothing is done- corruption
5) NYRA Internet wagering delayed for years with red tape, while out of state ADW's allowed to operate and siphon money out of the state- ineptitude
6) Franchise deadline passes with no action-ineptitude
7) Deals signed by NYRA but not rubber stamped by NYSRWB causing more lost revenue- ineptitude
8)NYRA can not offer small perks like free admission for account holders after NYSRWB orders that everyone must pay to enter track- ineptitude
It is clear we are dealing with both corruption and ineptitude. In a state like New York where there is so much wealth and so many educated taxpayers it is surprising that the government is such a third rate operation. The future looks grim in New York and it looks like we are on the crest of a tremendous downward spiral. If the way NY governs racing is a indicator on how it governs the State as a whole it looks like we are cycling back towards the economic and social downtrend of the 1970's and 1980's.
Lets get a scorecard on the state and see if we are dealing with a bumbler or a schemer. With all of these questions someone should be finding the answers.
1) Pataki blocks slots at NYRA for 3 years. -Would not give final approval for unknown reasons- corruption
2) Minor teller/waiter scandals in 2004-2006 initiated by Spitzer forever cloud NYRA as a corrupt organization in media. -both scandals are pure media designed attention getting fiascoes- corruption
3) Multiple franchise racing approval processes started, finished, ignored and started again - ineptitude
4) OTB continues to leach off the racing industry with bloated staff and political patronage jobs- nothing is done- corruption
5) NYRA Internet wagering delayed for years with red tape, while out of state ADW's allowed to operate and siphon money out of the state- ineptitude
6) Franchise deadline passes with no action-ineptitude
7) Deals signed by NYRA but not rubber stamped by NYSRWB causing more lost revenue- ineptitude
8)NYRA can not offer small perks like free admission for account holders after NYSRWB orders that everyone must pay to enter track- ineptitude
It is clear we are dealing with both corruption and ineptitude. In a state like New York where there is so much wealth and so many educated taxpayers it is surprising that the government is such a third rate operation. The future looks grim in New York and it looks like we are on the crest of a tremendous downward spiral. If the way NY governs racing is a indicator on how it governs the State as a whole it looks like we are cycling back towards the economic and social downtrend of the 1970's and 1980's.
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