Tax Break Trail Hits Hochul’s Home

New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s husband has pulled in nearly $200,000 from a gaming company that just won a tax break worth more than $18 million.

Quick Take

William Hochul worked as Delaware North’s general counsel from 2016 to 2023 and still collects payments from the company.
New York’s state budget gave Delaware North a tax break that could save it over $18 million by 2029.
Delaware North lobbied the governor’s office, the budget office, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie before the deal passed.
The company and its owners gave roughly $500,000 to political causes, with half going to Hochul’s campaign.
Hochul’s office says the payments are normal retirement income and that donations never sway government decisions.

A Husband’s Company and a Big Tax Break

Records show William Hochul received close to $200,000 in deferred compensation from Delaware North after leaving the company. A 2025 financial disclosure listed a separate payment between $100,000 and $150,000 from the same source. He had spent seven years as the gaming and hospitality giant’s senior vice president and general counsel, stepping down in 2023.

Around the same time, New York’s state budget included a provision that could save Delaware North more than $18 million through 2029 for its Finger Lakes gaming operation. The measure was part of a larger $242 million package that benefited slot-machine operators across the state.

Lobbying Reached the Top of State Government

Delaware North disclosed lobbying New York’s Gaming Commission and Speaker Heastie directly. The company also lobbied the governor’s office and the state budget division while pushing for the tax change, according to disclosure filings reviewed by reporters.

Timing adds another wrinkle. Less than three months before the budget passed with Delaware North’s tax break included, the company had funded sports outings for Heastie, including suites at Boston Celtics games. Delaware North spokesperson Glen White said the suites were donated after a request for political fundraising events, and that the company “did not discuss political matters” with Heastie or his staff at the games.

Political Donations Flowed to Hochul

Delaware North’s owners, the Jacobs family, along with the company itself, gave about $500,000 to political causes, with roughly half backing Kathy Hochul. At least $225,000 went directly to her reelection campaign since last year. None of this proves the donations bought the tax break, but the overlap between giving, lobbying, and legislative outcome is the kind of pattern watchdogs flag as an access concern, even without hard evidence of a trade.

Hochul’s Team Pushes Back

A Hochul spokesperson said campaign contributions “have no impact on government decisions” and described the deferred compensation as money William Hochul earned while at Delaware North, paid out after he left. A company spokesperson separately said the payout reflected typical executive retirement and incentive pay tied to the company’s improved financial performance.

Delaware North also defended its political activity more broadly, saying its lobbying and donations are comparable to other companies in its industry and that its government-affairs team follows all applicable laws. Earlier reporting indicated Kathy Hochul had recused herself from official actions involving Delaware North while her husband stayed at the company, though it’s unclear how formal or closely monitored that recusal has been.

Bill Hochul was general counsel at Delaware North from 2016 through 2023, though as of 2025 he was still earning deferred compensation

— Rob Galbraith (@RobCGalbraith) November 5, 2026

Why This Pattern Matters to Voters

Nothing in the public record shows Kathy Hochul personally ordered or approved the tax break. But research on state and federal lobbying backs up why this story strikes a nerve: one study found donors get face time with senior policymakers three to four times more often than non-donors. That doesn’t prove donations buy policy, but it explains why money, access, and family ties keep raising questions people across the political spectrum are asking about who government really works for.