You have to give Onondaga County Legislator Marty Masterpole credit for one thing, he doesn’t give up easily. Three times he’s pushed for a proposal to allow Off-Track Betting (OTB) in Onondaga Country and three times he’s failed. Masterpole tried for a fourth time last week.

Again the Legislature defeated the proposal; this time by a vote of 7 to 12. 

Mr. Masterpole believes that Off-Track Betting will bring in a million dollars to the county, but studies report that allowing more gambling only creates more gambling problems.

New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF) doesn’t believe that it is wise for government to be investing and trying to build the economy on the backs of the people it’s designed to serve.  So NYCF is thankful that the measure was defeated again.

It is time for Mr. Masterpole and the rest of the Onondaga County Legislature to hang it up on gambling expansion. They need to seek reasonable solutions to the many problems facing the county, and stop dreaming of gambling revenues.