New York Times – During the final two months of this year’s legislative session in Albany, more than three dozen companies, Indian tribes and trade groups with an interest in gambling or horse racing lobbied New York’s state government. There were more lobbyists representing the gambling industry than there are members of the Legislature. The industry’s backers got what they wanted, and in three weeks, the state’s voters will go to the polls, deciding whether to amend the State Constitution to allow up to seven new casinos. The proposed constitutional amendment, backed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and approved twice…

WGZR – Gov. Andrew Cuomo predicted Monday that the November referendum to legalize casino gambling in New York will pass, but it will require a “sophisticated argument.” Cuomo said he expects a close decision Nov. 5 when voters will be asked to approve up to seven privately owned casinos in New York, with the first four upstate. Cuomo said voters might be put off by approving more gambling in New York. But he said New York already has gambling at racetracks and at Indian casinos. “I think that’s going to be the natural knee jerk for people” to reject more…

Times Union – A statewide vote to amend the constitution by allowing up to seven new full-gaming casinos in New York has been engineered in the Capitol over two legislative sessions, the culmination of years of debate touching on economic development, quality of life and the social costs of problem gambling. But with just seven weeks to go before voters decide the issue in November’s general election, the silence from advocates and opponents is deafening. That can be ascribed in large part to the recently ended primary campaign season that, upstate and down, included virtually no debate about the casino plan. “We’re just…