[John Valentine]

Things floating in rivers are usually washed downstream by the currents. Seems unlikely that this item would float upstream for 60 miles against tide and current. Maybe somebody trucked it from Atlantic City to Albany and dumped in the river there.

[BenLurkin]

Origin at a casino or theater makes a lot of sense.

[Oratam]

Not so! The Hudson is tidal as far as Troy, about 160 miles inland. In fact, the local Indians called the river Mahicantuck or "river that flows both ways."

A log would take almost a year to float from Troy to the sea. It would travel downstream about 8 miles and upstream about 7 1/2 miles each day. (Hudson: A Guidebook to the River, Arthur G. Adams, p.12)