Hofstra University has an ace in the hole — a former president — in its battle to block high-stakes gambling from coming to the nearby Nassau Coliseum.
And the relationship between Stuart Rabinowitz and the university he worked at for five decades could potentially stack the deck in favor of rival casino bids, including one pitched for Queens by Mets owner Steve Cohen, critics fear.
Rabinowitz, who retired from the university in 2021, holds one of three seats on the state Gaming Facility Location Board that will ultimately decide which three applicants score coveted licenses to operate downstate casinos.
But Rabinowitz’s Hofstra connection has so far gone under the radar — despite some critics wondering whether it could spell doom for Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s proposal to operate a casino and hotel at the county-owned Nassau Coliseum. His successor, Hofstra president Susan Poser is seeking to block the project and has publicly claimed any economic benefits would be vastly outweighed by gambling, traffic, crime and other problems it would bring to neighborhoods near her Long Island campus.
Opponents of Cohen’s bid to build a casino next to Citi Field are demanding the ex-Hofstra honcho step down from the board because they feel it’s a serious conflict of interest.
Former Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz retired from his post in 2021. Getty Images for A&E“It certainly has an appearance of impropriety,” said Robert LoScalzo, a Queens activist who first flagged Rabinowitz’s ties to the university. “This isn’t a person who’d throw Hofstra under the bus.”
“How do we know [Rabinowitz] won’t go out of his way to protect the area near Hofstra by steering the casino to another nearby community?” fumed fellow Queens activist Alfredo Centola.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is backing Las Vegas Sands casino plan.
Queens activist Alfredo Centola (left, shaking hands with Mayor Eric Adams) is demanding former Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz step down from a state board deciding on casino licenses over “a conflict of interest.” We Love Whitestone Civic Association
Mets owner Steve Cohen wants to bring a casino next to Citi Field in Queens. MLB Photos via Getty ImagesMessages left with Las Vegas Sands were not returned, but Gaming Facility Location Board spokesman Lee Park insisted “there are no issues with Mr. Rabinowitz’s service.”
“Despite the frivolous claims of proponents and opponents of certain proposed projects, the casino siting process for up to three remaining commercial casino licenses will be fair, transparent and free from politics,” Parks said.
Opposition for other proposed downstate casinos is brewing, including at Hudson Yards, Times Square and Coney Island.
