在过去的几年中，美国东北部已经发展成为赌博的温床。特别本周三纽约州立法会议之后，美国东北部或将扩大其博彩影响力。纽约立法委员会已经同意在该州新建七个赌场，此举将有可能使纽约成为北美东海岸的顶级博彩目的地。

　　立法委员会同意修改纽约州宪法，更改只允许两家赌场在纽约州经营的法律规定。立法委员声称要在2013年的立法会议上制定赌场监管制度，这意味着不需要一年的时间，纽约州在发展博彩业方面将遥遥领先美国其他州。

　　纽约州州长安德鲁·科莫说：“我们终于可以迎接这个事实，纽约博彩业将迎来前所未有的发展机遇。我们需要尽快制定相关法律条文，以规范赌博业。这是一个正确的决策，新建七家赌场不仅能解决纽约州居民的就业问题，更能推动纽约州的经济发展。”科莫自上任以来，一直主张扩大纽约州的赌场经济。对于是否要扩大赌场经济，纽约州已经争论了十年之久。幸而立法者如今已经改变想法，他们认为赌博也是带来收益的一种方式，尽管扩大博彩业可能会产生不少负面影响，但其正面影响也是不可估量的。

　　近年来，纽约邻州的博彩行业也在繁荣发展，宾夕法尼亚州，马里兰州，特拉华州，马萨诸塞州等都授权赌场经营商新建赌场，纽约则希望能成为美国东北地带的核心赌博区。但一些博彩分析家认为，这一设想可能是短视的。

　　博彩分析师布拉德·道金斯表示，如果纽约一下子批准新建七个赌场，他们很容易就可以成为继内华达州之后的美国第二大赌城，内华达州客源将分流。那么对美国整个博彩行业来说，只是进行了一次简单的客源分配，纽约将难再成为世界性的赌场目的地。

　　虽然纽约州立法委员会已经通过该法案，但还需要得到该州选民的投票通过才生效。据调查得知，有不少纽约居民赞成，因为在过去几十年中，纽约赌徒不得不千里跋涉迫至大西洋城的赌场享受赌博娱乐。

　　译文：

　　The Northeast has become a hotbed for casino gambling over the past several years, but on Wednesday, an announcement by lawmakers in New York could have widespread effects on the gaming industry throughout the world. New York legislators agreed this week to allow seven new casinos in the state, a move that will likely make the state the top gaming destination on the East Coast.

　　Legislators agreed to amend the state Constitution to allow more than the two casinos currently permitted by law. The lawmakers vowed to begin working on the regulatory system in the 2013 legislative session, meaning other states now have less than a year to stay ahead of New York in the industry.

　　"We are finally confronting the reality that while New York is already in the gaming business, we need a real plan to regulate and capitalize on the industry," said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. "This is a process that will ultimately put thousands of New Yorkers to work, drive our economy, and help keep billions of dollars spent by New Yorkers on gaming in the state.

　　Cuomo has been pushing for casino expansion since he took office, and the debate over the issue has spanned a decade in New York. legislators have been slow to take to the idea that gambling could be a way to bring in revenue, as lawmakers have argued the negative effects would outweigh the positives.

　　That changed in recent years, however, as neighboring states have given the blueprint for success within the gaming industry. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and most recently, Massachusetts have all authorized new casinos in the past year. New York is hoping they will become the premiere gaming outfit on the East Coast, but some analysts believe that vision may be shortsighted.

　　"If New York follows through and authorizes seven new casinos, they easily could become the second largest gaming destination in the US behind Nevada," said Gaming Analyst Brad Dawkins. "With the amount of people that come through New York each year, the casino gambling industry could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars just from high end gamblers. Throw in the average bettors, and the state could be poised to become one of the largest casino destinations in the world."

　　Even with the bill that passed this week, it takes two consecutive Legislature's to have the bills go in effect, and voters in the state would also have to approve the amendment. Reports have shown that New York residents are in favor of bringing more casinos to the state. For the past several decades, New Yorkers have been forced to travel to Atlantic City to do their casino gambling.