ALBANY – The Albany Times Union is reporting this morning that Governor Andrew Cuomo will propose a new, non-Indian casino for downtown Niagara Falls. The announcement will be the result of the Governor’s frustration with the state’s long-standing financial dispute with the Seneca Nation, combing with it seeking more lucrative gambling revenues.
The 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.
The paper says the information was first reported to the Buffalo News by an administration official speaking 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.
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