Tribe signs casino accord with state
CATTARAUGUS INDIAN RESERVATION, N.Y. (AP) – The Seneca Indian Nation approved a deal with the state Tuesday to build casinos in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. The 14-year compact will send some slot-machine profits to the state, which has sought new revenue amid the economic fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks.
On the Senecas’ two reservations in western New York, tribal members accepted the gambling plan by a vote of 1,077-976. The deal still needs approval by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Seneca President Cyrus Schindler estimated the venture could mean between $2 billion and $3 billion for the tribe.
The state, which is anticipating $300 million, initially will receive 18 percent of slot machine profits and see its share grow to 25 percent. Local municipalities receive 6.25 percent of the state’s share.
The casinos, along with plans for three more Indian casinos in the Catskills, were included in a historic gambling expansion approved by state legislators last year as a way to make up for revenues lost after the terrorist attacks.
State leaders hope to raise $1 billion annually within about three years from the six new casinos, video betting terminals and joining the multistate Powerball lottery.
The issue of casinos has divided Seneca members for a decade. Gambling supporters envision using revenues for better schools, cultural preservation, spinoff business that would ease high unemployment, and new housing.
“I think it will create jobs not only for us but for non-Indians,” said Mike Memmo, a supporter. “It will boost money and trade in the area for everyone.”
Opponents see dealing with the state as a threat to tribal sovereignty after years of disputes with New York over taxes and land claims. Others view gambling as a blow to tradition and culture.
Seneca Treasurer Arnold Cooper, who opposed the arrangement, also said the nation had no clear plan on how profits would be used, including whether Senecas would receive per capita payments.