#NY bar draws outrage for taking bets on Labor Day weekend shootings

A Long Island bar has drawn outrage for creating a gambling pool on whether New York City or Chicago would have more shootings during Labor Day weekend.

The Cliffton in Patchogue reportedly posted a picture of the Super Bowl-style box betting pool to Instagram last week with the caption, ” Let the shooting sprees begin!” Newsday reported.

The morbid contest comes as the cities grapple with upticks in shootings during the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought sky-high unemployment and fears over evictions.

“As a @MomsDemand volunteer and gun violence survivor with the @Everytown Survivor Network I am positively disgusted by The Clifton Bar on Long Island treating gun violence as a joke,” tweeted Lisa Hendricks. “This is life and death, not a betting pool. Shame on them.”

Bettors taking part were able to buy boxes that are assigned a number representing the predicted shootings totals in the cities. The gambler with the correct figures would win a cash prize, according to Newsday.

Jack Sterne, a spokesman for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, called the pool a “disgusting degradation of human life.” Reps for Mayor de Blasio and the mayor of Patchogue also quickly condemned the bet.

Suffolk police told Newsday it is investigating the pool, which appears to be illegal under laws preventing gambling in businesses with liquor licenses.

The State Liquor Authority also promised action, stating that The Cliffton already violated the law earlier this week when its operators denied entry to the state for an unrelated inspection.

“This establishment will be charged for the violation we have already observed and can expect to hear from us again,” the authority said in a statement to Newsday.

The Cliffton has been in hot water before. Last year the self-professed “dive bar” sparked protests among the LGTBQ community for a transphobic Instagram post, News 12 Long Island reported at the time.

The bar could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.