The proposed del Lago Resort & Casino in Tyre overcame two significant court challenges as a local tribe and citizens group lost their respective efforts to stop its construction.
New York Supreme Court Justice Vincent Reilly on June 10 ruled against the Oneida Indian Nation’s claim that the state Gaming Commission violated procedures when granting a gaming license for the Tyre casino.
The tribe owns the Yellow Brick Road and Turning Stone casinos, which is located 65 miles away from the planned Tyre casino location.
The tribe says the Tyre casino won’t generate new economic activity in the area, and instead would just take business away from existing gaming operations and cause economic harm to other communities.
Reilly denied the tribe’s request to stop the Tyre casino development, saying the tribe’s concerns that it might suffer a loss of business and future revenues aren’t sufficient to prove the casino operation would cause significant harm.
Having lost its legal battle, the tribe hopes it will have better success with state lawmakers.
“It now is up to the Legislature and state leaders to minimize the harm caused by the Location Board’s decisions. We stand ready to assist lawmakers in correcting the serious impacts of the Location Board’s error,” the tribe said in a statement.
In a separate lawsuit, citizen’s group Casino-Free Tyre argued the casino hadn’t properly compiled necessary environmental impact and other studies when obtaining its gaming license, and it would harm the local community.
On June 10, a New York appellate court upheld a state court’s ruling in favor of the casino, saying it properly completed the necessary impact studies.
The planned del Lago Resort & Casino is to include a 207-room hotel, spa, 2,000 slots, and 85 table games, while employing up to 1,500 workers when it opens in early 2017.
It’s one of three proposed casinos state regulators okayed for Upstate New York in an effort to boost local economies and drive more tourism dollars into the area.
State gaming regulators since have OK’d a fourth casino in the Southern Tier.
