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Poll: New Yorkers Want To Gamble On Casinos

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Las Vegas, New York?

A new poll shows that most New Yorkers want casinos to come off the reservation.

According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, 56 percent of registered voters backed the creation of casinos "similar to those in Atlantic City and Las Vegas." That means having them not be affiliated with Indian tribes.

Most respondents - 64 percent - believed that creating casinos would be good for the local economy.

"New Yorker of every stripe say what stays in Vegas should stay in the Empire State as well," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The poll surveyed 1,016 registered voters. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points. Click here to see the poll.

Related: New Yorkers' Travel Guide To Casinos

In August, Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke with CBS 2's Marcia Kramer about the possibility of legalizing casino gambling.

"The gaming issue is an issue the state has to come to grips with," Cuomo said.

As of now, you can play slot machines at racinos and gamble on Indian reservations. Cuomo has hired an assistant to examine allowing companies to build casinos with table games like blackjack, roulette and dice games where there are no Indian reservations.

"You have gaming in this state and, by the way, you have gaming in neighboring states so it's really not an issue any more of if we don't officially sanction it as a government it's not going to happpen. It is happening," Cuomo told Kramer.

The New York Council on Problem Gambling points out a potential issue with the new casinos.

"Research shows us that within 50 miles of any new gambling facility the rate of problem gambling doubles, and within 10 miles we see a 90 percent increase in problem gambling," the council's Michelle Hadden told WCBS 880's Rich Lamb.

What do you think? Should there be more gambling options in New York? Sound off in our comments section.

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