New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vetoed a bill that would have provided Madison County with shares the revenue generated by two machine gaming operations run by the Oneida Indian Nation.
Cuomo said that as currently crafted the bill, which passed 59-1 in the Senate and 124-4 in the Assembly, could “compromise” a multi-party revenue-sharing agreement concluded in 2013 with the Oneidas, operators of the state’s massive Turning Stone casino resort complex in neighboring Oneida County.
The agreement between the state, the tribe and Madison and Oneida counties settled years of litigation over property tax, land and reservation issues. Madison received $11 million when the agreement was signed and gets another $3.5 million a year in lieu of taxes. But there was no gaming in the county at the time, whereas now there are two machine gaming venues: the Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango, consisting of 432 video lottery terminals, and a 14-machine operation at a SavOn convenience store in Canastota.
The bill, which would amend the State Finance Law to pay Madison an additional 25 percent of the 2013 revenue split, was sponsored in the Senate by Madison Democrat David Valesky and in the Assembly by Democrat Bill Magee, also from Madison.
Cuomo’s veto doesn’t mean the issue is settled, however. It could be overridden with a two-thirds majority in each house. And the governor has said he’s open to amending the original agreement.
“I recognize that Madison County is impacted by gaming devices located within its borders,” he said. “Therefore, I am instructing the director of the Division of the Budget to communicate with the sponsors of this bill to review and explore a revenue-sharing formula that would provide Madison County with an appropriate portion of the revenue generated from such gaming devices.”
VLTs also were in the news at other end of the state, where the village of Islandia in Long Island’s Suffolk County approved plans for a machine gaming venue at the local Marriott hotel
The proposal has attracted opposition from residents worried about traffic congestion and other problems. Supporters argue it will bring new jobs and millions of dollars in revenue to the village and Suffolk County.
The meeting of the village board that approved the plan was interrupted at times by opponents and supporters chanting “No casino!” and “Yes casino!”
The plan, which is approved by the state Gaming Commission, calls for Buffalo, N.Y.-based casino and racetrack operator Delaware North to buy the Islandia Marriott and operate it as a hotel while leasing space to Suffolk County Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., which would install 1,000 VLTs.
The plan is seen as key to rescuing the OTB, which is deep in debt and operating under protection of federal Bankruptcy Court, and could be a boon to Islandia in terms of a host fee and investments in various infrastructure and beautification projects promised by Delaware North.
If all goes well, an attorney for the OTB said the casino is expected to open in December. But opponents are suing the village and Delaware North in state Supreme Court to prevent that from happening.
