Gary Greenberg was not expecting anything in return when he started lobbying local politicians to help the Vernon Downs Hotel and Casino in central New York succeed. He just wanted to make sure the legacy of his grandfather lived on.
His hard work has paid off, though, in the form of watching a new $8.9 million events center celebrate its grand opening on Thursday, July 21.
“I thought it had a future and wanted that future to stay in the family and nurture it,” said Greenberg, a resident of Colonie.
Greenberg’s grandfather first became involved with Vernon Downs back in the 1950’s.
“My grandfather had a vision for it and it meant a lot on that end,” he said of the longtime harness racing facility. “It’s always been in the family so it has some sentimental value for me.”
His passion also comes from his own love of harness racing, a tradition he hopes continues to grow.
When his grandfather died, his stock went to Greenberg’s mother and her three brothers. When one of his uncles died, the stock was set to go to Greenberg’s cousin. Luckily for him, she didn’t have much of an interest in it.
That was back in 1994, but it came during the decline of popularity of harness racing, which was the main feature of Vernon Downs at the time. Greenberg said that is actually when he became more interested.
“The track became less and less profitable as more OTB’s, lotteries and the Turning Stone Casino opened up,” he said. “It limited their [Vernon Downs’] ability to function. It increased my involvement.”
For the next ten years, Greenberg said the track fared well. What saved it was a law passed by the New York State Legislature that allowed Video Lottery Terminals to be built in the racino. Unfortunately, Greenberg said, the facility was poorly managed by a former owner and eventually had to file for bankruptcy.
“The track became less and less profitable as more OTB’s, lotteries and the Turning Stone Casino opened up,” he said. “It limited their [Vernon Downs’] ability to function. It increased my involvement.”
The Board of Directors soon found New York City Real Estate Executive Jeff Gural, a horse breeder who was involved in the racing industry. Greenberg represented the shareholders of the company when Gural presented his plan to the board and a deal was worked out where Gural would own 90 percent of the company and the 99 other shareholders would own the other 10 percent.
In 2006, the harness track opened back up and some renovations were completed for the VLT’s. This was not the end of its troubles, though. Having to compete with a tax-free company like Turning Stone Casino was becoming more difficult, Greenberg said. To help fix this, he said he began lobbying the New York State Legislature to allow facilities in the same predicament to start taking in more revenue from VLTs.
“Gural closed the track for three days in 2008,” he said. “He owns Tioga [Downs Casino Racing and Entertainment] as well, so he closed those down. After he did that, the Assembly, Senate and governor signed a bill to allow racinos to keep more of the revenues and commissions. It helped tremendously.”
Greenberg earned a degree in public affairs from American University in Washington, D.C. This, he said, helped when he lobbied legislators such as Assemblyman Bob Reilly, D-Colonie, Assemblyman Jack McEneny, D-Albany, and Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari, D-Cohoes. He has also been involved in various civic communities throughout the town of Colonie.
His next objective is to expand the casino in Vernon Downs, and he hopes to eventually install full tables at the casinos, giving it a better chance of competing with the nearby Turning Stone Casino. He said if two consecutive legislative sessions vote the bill through, and if the public votes in favor for it on a constitutional referendum on the November 2013 ballot, the facility will be able to go through with the expansion
“With that, Vernon Downs would spend another $8 million renovating the facility to make that accessible,” he said. “This would create more jobs and more revenue.”
Greenberg was invited by Gural to help cut the ribbon at the event introducing the new events center. It was a big moment for him, he said, as he has put in a lot of hard work into the project. His only reward has been to watch Vernon Downs grow.
“He’s always been doing his best to comment on the issues,” said Gural. “He’s always been an advocate for Vernon Downs, and I’ve always appreciated his support. I think it helped. It always helps to have people who know their local politician to help weigh in on an issue.”
What has really fueled Greenberg’s lobbying efforts is the shadow Turning Stone Casino has cast over Vernon Downs. Greenberg said it isn’t fair the casino doesn’t have to pay any state, federal or corporate taxes. This is something he believes has really hurt Vernon Downs.
“Once Turning Stone came in, that sort of aggravated me,” he said. “Not that it doesn’t deserve to be where it is, but they never have to pay anything. To me, that was always unfair. It motivated me to stay involved. They should be forced to pay taxes just like everyone else.”
