Skift Take
Does Niagara Falls, New York, really need another casino, whether it is run by the Senecas or not? It sounds like an idea worth throwing over the Falls.
The Cuomo administration in New York, frustrated with its long-standing financial dispute with the Seneca Nation and seeking more lucrative gambling revenues, will propose a new, non-Indian casino for downtown Niagara Falls.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's move sets in motion either an effort to jump-start stalled talks over the more than $500 million in lapsed casino revenue-sharing payments or an attempt to bring direct, non-Indian competition to the tribe's exclusive gambling empire in Western New York.
The governor has said he wanted to add three non-Indian casinos to upstate, but he now is preparing to increase the casino expansion to four facilities and, for the first time, he is specifically identifying one of those sites: Niagara Falls, according to an administration official speaking to The Buffalo News on condition of anonymity.
For the casino plan to get the green light, Cuomo needs the newly created state Gaming Commission -- which he controls -- to determine that the 2002 casino compact between the Senecas and New York has been breached.
Significantly, the Cuomo administration believes "ending the Indian monopoly would be an economic benefit" to the state and localities.
The administration official noted that the Senecas -- "when they pay" -- will share 25 percent of their slot machine revenues with the state and localities.
But non-Indian casino operators, if the current revenue-sharing model at nine racetrack-based casinos is followed, could end up paying triple what the Senecas are supposed to pay.
The Senecas haven't paid anything in recent years, saying that the state violated the compact by allowing casino-style gambling at Hamburg and Batavia.
That the administration has worked out
