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He “gamed” the system.
Sports-obsessed Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and his staffers were treated to thousands of dollars in luxury Boston Celtics tickets by a gambling company — that later scored a projected $18 million in state tax breaks, an investigation reveals.
Heastie (D-Bronx) and staffers earlier this year were given nearly $14,000 in high-end suite tickets by Delaware North, a gaming and hospitality firm that owns the Boston arena where the team plays, New York Focus reported.
Less than three months after the courtside freebie, the company — which had been lobbying Heastie — won a tax break in the state’s annual budget, which the top state Democrat plays a powerful role in shaping.
“It looks corrupt,” said David Grandeau, a lawyer who served as New York’s top lobbying regulator. “At best, it’s just business as usual. At worst, it’s a bribe.”
The powerful, Bronx-born pol — who inexplicably prefers to root for the New York Knicks’ biggest rival — cheered on the Celtics with at least four staffers in a luxury suite at TD Garden in March.
“Team Heastie road trip to the Boston Gahden!” he posted on Instagram at the time.
The tickets, valued at $13,800, had been given to them by Delaware North, according to the report.
And it wasn’t the first time.
Heastie scored similarly plum free suite tickets to Celtics games from Delaware North last year and in 2024 — when he was even photographed with three retired NBA stars, including Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins.
The multibillion dollar, Buffalo-based gambling giant is a registered lobbying client, which would usually prevent it from donating more than $15.
But to get around potential political foul play, it donated the suites to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee — a fund Heastie helps lead, meaning the perk didn’t count as a gift under state ethics rules.
In the weeks after the March game, Delaware North’s lobbyists met with Heastie to discuss the hefty tax rate paid by slot parlors like its Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack near Rochester, according to NY Focus.
The tax break wasn’t in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s January budget proposal or in either chamber of the Legislature’s spring spending plan, but surfaced in the final budget deal in late May letting slot parlors keep more of their take.
Heastie posted a screenshot of the NY Focus story on Instagram and fumed: “Newspapers like this one and the Post don’t deserve responding to these type of hit piece articles.”
“It’s called fundraising stupid,” the assemblyman posted. “We just spent along with candidates $16 million dollars on this election cycle. Sports games are great ways to fundraise.”
He didn’t return a request for comment from The Post on Thursday, but continued insisting there was nothing out of bounds when confronted at the annual Somos political conference in Puerto Rico.
“It was a fundraiser — a fundraiser,” he told a reporter from City & State in San Juan. “Ask me how much money we raised from these games, that would be a fair question. We’ve probably raised 10 times that amount of money over the years.”
Glen White, a rep for Delaware North, said the company was asked to donate suites for the three Celtics games “so it could be used to host political fundraising events,” according to NY Focus.
He did not answer when asked who specifically made the request for the tickets.
“Our government affairs team and lobbyists always operate within applicable lobbying and campaign finance laws,” White said.
He added that the company did not discuss political matters with Heastie or his staff at the games.
Overall, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has paid over $1 million to teams, stadiums and sports-related companies including the Yankees, Mets, Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden since Heastie became speaker in 2015.
The alleged suite-heart deal is the latest ethics snafu for the Assembly’s most powerful Democrat and well-known sports fan.
The Post reported last month about Heastie’s birthday bash trip with ex-Dallas Cowboys longtime friend and lobbyist Patrick Jenkins — neither of whom would admit who paid for the trip.
“Dallas stinks like these deals but rooting for Boston is treachery. No wonder he keeps such a low profile,” one veteran Democratic politico quipped to The Post.