After speaking with the legislative director to New York State Assemblyman and Chairman of the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development, Steve Englebright, on Thursday, SI.com has learned the legislation to sanction mixed martial arts in the state has not been defeated, but will be revisited and up for a re-vote June 18 at 9:30 a.m.
Elizabeth Nostrand confirmed the bill did go up for vote, but "as the meeting was breaking up, some of the members wanted to change their vote. But the members were leaving and not everyone was there when they wanted to change their vote. For ethics, they decided to lay the bill aside for re-vote Wednesday [June 18]."
When asked about the overall consensus of possible sanctioning of MMA in New York, Nostrand said it is likely that the bill could still pass the committee, thereby quashing any speculation of the bill's complete defeat.
And New York Magazine has an in-depth report that cuts through the hype right in the second paragraph:
he throwdown in Albany to legalize mixed-martial-arts fighting...was supposed to be an easy win for the extreme sport’s supporters. Since the Las Vegas–based Fertitta brothers took over the UFC in 2001, a lobbying effort has helped get it legalized in 34 states, including Nevada, New Jersey, and California. CBS and Spike TV broadcast bouts. But to go really mainstream, they need New York, with its media throng and upstate fans.
Frank Fertitta III and his brother Lorenzo made the cover of Forbes last month for what the magazine dubbed their “Ultimate Cash Machine.” The Fertittas come from a long line of casino entrepreneurs. Their grandfather, Anthony, ran gambling halls in Galveston, Texas, where he was convicted for beating up a Life reporter who came to town to investigate the scene. Frank Jr., the brothers’ father, was running Las Vegas’s Fremont Hotel when the Feds busted up the place to break a money-skimming operation (he wasn’t charged); the ordeal is said to have become the basis for Martin Scorsese’s Casino. He later opened a local-friendly casino miles away from the Strip, and he passed that business to his sons.
...They started their New York offensive last year, hiring the political consultants at Global Strategy Group, a well-connected Democratic firm, and putting a high-powered Albany lobbying firm on $10,000-a-month retainer. They gave $25,000 to the state Democratic Party, another $15,000 to the Assembly Democrats, and have also cut large checks to Republicans.
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