Posted: 2007/09/07 by: Glenn Haussman.
The United States gaming market continues to expand through gaming loopholes created by the Indian Gaming Act of 1988.
The law, which gave Native Americans the ability to open casino gaming operations on their sovereign land, opened the door for constructing myriad casinos throughout the country.
In many cases Indian Tribes with native tribal lands far away from population centers have managed to cut deals with the states in which they are located in to put land into trust off-reservation. Once approved, the “in trust” land is then considered sovereign territory and can be used to build a casino resort. Typically, these deals are made so individual states are able to reap financial rewards through heavy taxation.
It’s worked out real well for many tribes throughout the country and currently two additional tribes are moving closer to cutting deals to swap land in order to open casinos off reservation.
Most notably is the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Tribe which has been trying to get a casino opened in upstate New York for at least a decade. Now, it looks like it’s about to happen.
New York has a new governor, Eliot Spitzer, who seems poised to let the deal move ahead. If built, the Class III casino resort would include the full array of table games and slot machines and be built in conjunction with Empire Resorts. The resort would be built adjacent to Monticello Raceway where Empire already operates Mighty M Gaming, a slot machine facility located 90 miles north of New York City.
Last month before the governor took office, the site got through a major hurdle when it hears a Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) has been deemed sufficient. That means no costly and lengthy Environmental Impact Study (EIS) will be required before seeking permission to take 29.3 acres into trust.
Assessment (FEA) has been deemed sufficient, and as such no Environmental Impact Study (EIS) will be required. The BIA has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) related to the proposed federal action approving the Tribe’s request to take 29.3 acres into trust for the purpose of building a $600 million Class III gaming facility, in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. The proposed St. Regis Mohawk Casino is to be located at Monticello Raceway, just 90 miles north of New York City.
"This is on our radar screen," said Richard Rifkin, special counsel to the governor and advisor to Spitzer to the Times Herald-Record. "It is high on the agenda. He is well aware of what the federal government has done here in the finding of no significant impact. We now have to consider our response. We are not going to take a year and three months to evaluate this."
Way back in April 2000, the Tribe received a favorable Secretarial determination that found that gaming on the Monticello site would be in the best interest of the tribe and its members, and would not be detrimental to the surrounding communities. On September 9, 2005, George Skibine, Acting Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Policy, wrote to the Tribe to confirm that the 2000 Secretarial determination was still valid. In a letter dated May 25, 2006, then Governor George Pataki’s office urged the BIA to expedite its review process and to promptly notify his office once the potential environmental impacts had been satisfactorily addressed. This process is now complete.
“New York State and local officials should work together to immediately secure this unique economic development opportunity before the federal legislative or regulatory landscape inexorable changes -- leaving Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Atlantic City the really big winners,” David P. Hanlon, Empire's President and CEO said in a statement recently.
Meanwhile, the Bad River and St. Croix bands of the Chippewa Tribe have been notified their Trust Land Application for the proposed $200 million Beloit Casino Complex is being sent on to the U.S. Federal Government’s Department of the Interior, with a recommendation for approval.
“One of the main purposes of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is for disadvantaged tribes to gain success through gaming,” Bad River Chairman Eugene Big boy said in a press release. “When we were invited to Beloit we did not have a clear idea that the trust land approval process would move so slowly.”
The tribe has also been trying to get shovels in the ground on this project after 61 percent of local voters approved the project in a November 2000 referendum.
“This has been a long time in coming. This project will provide both the St. Croix and Bad River people with much needed economic development,” St. Croix Chairman David Merrill said. “We are grateful to Beloit, South Beloit and Rock County, and all the volunteers and elected representatives who continue to support the project. We are eager to move forward.”
The next phase of the approval process is expected to take several months.
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