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Paterson advances Indian casino operation |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 30 December 2010 |
Paterson advances Indian casino operation
Wisconsin-based tribe to operate in Catskills; Oneida vow lawsuit
By Casey Seiler State Editor
Thursday, December 30, 2010
ALBANY -- In one of his final acts as governor, David Paterson has submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior a deal that would allow the Stockbridge-Munsee band of Mohican Indians to build a casino in the Catskills, his spokeswoman Jessica Bassett confirmed.
In November, the Wisconsin-based tribe and Paterson announced a land-swap arrangement that would end its claim to 24,000 acres in Madison County in exchange for the 333-acre site of the proposed gaming facility.
On Wednesday, a copy of the Nov. 22 gaming compact -- complete with the signatures of Paterson and tribal President Kimberly Vele -- was provided to the Times Union. The 74-page document lays out in detail the regulatory structure that would guide the casino's management as well as the cut of net slot machine revenue that would come to the state: 18 percent to start, topping out at 25 percent within five years.
The compact also guarantees that, in the event that any other downstate Indian casino is approved in the future, the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe will have a chance to claim the same contractual terms.
The land-swap and gaming compact are now in the hands of Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who has 45 days to approve or reject the compact. If he takes no action, both aspects of the agreement become binding.
Leaders of the Oneida Nation, which operates Turning Stone Casino in Verona, have protested the state's decision to hand the Catskills project to an out-of-state tribe; they have promised to fight the deal in court.
Last month, the Oneidas' request to examine the gaming compact was rejected by Paterson's counsel, Peter Kiernan, who argued that it couldn't be made public pending attorney review and Salazar's consideration.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, who joined Paterson to announce the casino deal, has said that he would press Interior to approve the compact despite the agency's resistance to off-reservation casinos.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Paterson-advances-Indian-casino-operation-927479.php |
