In New York, lawmakers and representatives of the Seneca Nation have been meeting nearly bi-weekly since last August to negotiate the 20-year gaming compact that will expire in December. The compact will allow the tribe to continue operating their casinos in Salamanca, Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
Governor Kathy Hochul has recused herself from direct negotiations with the tribe because her husband works for Delaware North, a Seneca Gaming competitor.
In a statement, Hochul’s office said “staff at the Executive Chamber and Gaming Commission have been having substantive negotiations with the Seneca Nation for months. We are fully committed to continuing to meet, discuss and negotiate a compact, and we are confident that the process will continue in a way that best serves New Yorkers.”
Seneca business owner and activist J.C. Seneca told Spectrum News, “This compact is important to Western New York, the home of the governor. You’d think it would be on her priority list to be able to find a way to be able to get the job done. It is frustrating to know that the governor will not come to the table.”
Seneca recently organized a rally outside Seneca Casino to pressure Hochul for a fairer compact agreement. Tribal officials said the state violated its exclusivity agreement that forbids casinos and slot machines from operating near any Seneca casinos.
That provision is on the table, said Seneca, who also has launched a website, WNYFairCompact.com, and is sending a petition and letter to the governor and legislature. The current compact also calls for the tribe to pay 25 percent, or about $100 million a year, to the state from casino revenue; the tribe wants to lower that percentage.
Seneca noted besides the approval of the state legislature, the tribe needs the approval of a majority of its citizens. “Those things take time and so we have to make sure that our people know what’s in this compact, they’re okay with it and that then we can push it forward and then the federal government also has to have a review process,” Seneca told Spectrum.
State Senator George Borrello, whose district surrounds tribal territory, said the legislature will need to vote on an agreement before the session ends next month. But, he said, “I’m just not hearing good things about the compact negotiation. While I know we call special sessions for highly politically charged events, we don’t necessarily do it for things that are important to people like the Senecas.”
