A gambling company that was lobbying New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie gave his party’s campaign committee a free Celtics suite, then won a state tax cut estimated to be worth more than $18 million.
Story Highlights
- Heastie and at least four staffers used a $13,800 Celtics suite donated by Delaware North, according to campaign finance records.
- In the weeks after the game, Heastie met with the company’s lobbyists about the tax on its slot parlor, according to lobbying records.
- The final state budget cut that tax, a change one estimate puts at more than $18 million for the company’s Finger Lakes site.
- Heastie answered on social media: “It’s called fundraising stupid.” Nobody has been charged with any crime.
What The Records Show About The Celtics Suites
A news investigation published Thursday, November 5, says Delaware North donated a luxury suite at a Boston Celtics home game in March 2026 to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee. The package was worth $13,800 and covered seats, food and drinks. Heastie, who is the committee’s honorary chair, and at least four of his staffers used it. The company was lobbying him at the time for a lower tax on slot machines, according to the report.
Heastie answered after the report came out. “It’s called fundraising stupid,” he wrote on social media. He said his committee and its candidates had spent $16 million in this election cycle, and he called sports games “great ways to fundraise.” Delaware North said it was asked to donate the suite so it could be used to host political fundraising events. “Our government affairs team and lobbyists always operate within applicable lobbying and campaign finance laws,” said Glen White, a company spokesman. The company also said it did not discuss political matters with Heastie or his staff at the games.
Delaware North is a Buffalo-based hospitality and gambling company. It owns TD Garden, the arena where the Celtics play. According to the report, the company gave similar suite packages in 2024 and 2025, for a total of nearly $37,000. Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, has led the Assembly since 2015 and is a well-known Celtics fan.
The Lobbying Timeline And The Tax Change
Delaware North runs Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack, a horse track with a slot parlor, which is a gambling hall filled with slot-style machines. According to lobbying records cited in the report, Heastie met in the weeks after the game with the company’s in-house lobbyist, Shannon Patch, and with lobbyists from O’Donnell & Associates. The meetings were about the Finger Lakes site and the tax rate on slot parlors.
The governor’s budget plan in January did not change that rate, and neither did the Senate and Assembly plans in early March. The final budget, approved in late May, let slot parlors keep a bigger share of their money as profit and pay less in tax. The report estimates the change could be worth more than $18 million to the Finger Lakes site by the time it ends in mid-2029. That figure is the reporters’ estimate, not a state number.
Other gambling companies also lobbied on the slot tax and also gain from the change, and some may gain more than Delaware North. According to the report, only Delaware North’s lobbyists reported meeting Heastie in person.
What The Law Allows
Under state rules, a donation to a campaign committee does not count as a gift to an official. State ethics law bans gifts meant to win influence. State law also bars using campaign money for personal benefit, and it allows campaign money to pay for sports games only when they are tied to a campaign, a party role or official duties.
The committee’s “housekeeping” account, which pays for ordinary party costs, can take unlimited donations from companies. According to the report, the committee has spent more than $1 million on teams, arenas and other sports costs since Heastie became speaker in 2015. More than half of that is labeled fundraising.
David Grandeau, a former top state lobbying regulator, said of the suite, “It looks corrupt.” He added that at best it is business as usual, and “At worst, it’s a bribe.” Heastie has not been charged with any crime.
How The Parties Explain The Hospitality
Before the report came out, Heastie’s office and the committee did not answer detailed questions, according to the reporter. The committee’s executive director hung up when reached by phone. Heastie’s first public answer was his social media post calling the outings fundraising.
Delaware North did not say who asked it to donate the suite. The company’s position is that the suite was for fundraising, that it followed the law, and that politics was not discussed at the games.
Why This Matters For Taxpayers
The speaker of the Assembly is one of the few people who shape New York’s state budget, so time with him is valuable to any company facing a tax change. The records show a gift to his committee, private meetings and a tax cut that helped the giver. They do not show that the suite bought any vote or decision.
Gambling taxes help pay for public needs in New York, so a lower slot tax means the state keeps less from those sites. Voters can weigh the timeline for themselves.
Sources:
nysfocus.com, wkbw.com, wamc.org, nypost.com, hellgatenyc.com
