New York state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. has spent more than a decade on a quixotic mission to raise the minimum age to gamble at state-approved facilities that feature video lottery terminals (VLTs) from 18 to 21 — which would match the age minimum for patrons of the state’s four commercial casinos to play strikingly similar slot machines, or any popular table games such as blackjack or roulette.
Last week, Addabbo reintroduced a similar version of this measure in Senate Bill 2610, and like the movie Groundhog Day that [was] commemorated on Sunday, the result is liable to be rather predictable.
But later this year, there could be a twist. That’s because even if the latest bill stalls again this spring, it’s quite possible that the state’s two largest VLT sites — the Aqueduct and Yonkers horse racing track “racinos,” with thousands of machines at each location open for play every day — in December will get upgraded to full-fledged casinos.
