Washington bills may impact Sullivan County casinos

Mighty M owners says their project may be approved before the law takes effect

By FRITZ MAYER

WASHINGTON, DC — Washington is suggesting a bottom line: no more casinos off the reservation.

Senator John McCain of Arizona has introduced legislation in Congress that would prevent most Indian tribes from opening casinos on land that is not part of the tribe’s reservation. His bill, if it passes, would probably impact some of the four of the Sullivan County casino projects, but it might not have any impact the casino planned by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe at Monticello Raceway.

Charles Degliomini, vice president for communications for Empire Resorts, the raceway’s owners, said the bill is written in a way that has no effect on projects that are far along in the approvals process with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Further, said Degliomini, “we’ll probably have approvals from the BIA before the bill becomes law.”

Some congress watchers, however, believe the bill may pass sooner rather than later, because of growing pressure by legislators to put the brakes on nationwide casino development.

Additionally, a bill similar to McCain’s, introduced in the house by California Congressman Richard Pombo, would block off-reservation casinos even for tribes that are far along in the BIA permitting process. (All of the proposed casino projects in Sullivan County are off-reservation projects.)

Chuck Cushman, executive director of the Alliance Against Reservation Shopping, said that some lawmakers will try to change Pombo’s bill to grandfather tribes that have already applied to the BIA, but his group plans to fight that.

But even if the proposed legislation does not block the casino at the raceway, that project still has other significant obstacles. Degliomini said if the BIA vies final approvals for the project, all that is needed is Governor Pataki’s consent. But the St. Regis Mohawks still have a land-claim against New York State, and Pataki has said he will not sign off on any project involving a tribe with an existing land claim.

Lawmakers in Albany, meanwhile, have decided not to address the tribe’s land claims issues in this session. Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther said this is because the tribe elected new leadership and changed the location of its proposed casino.

A national issue

Pombo is especially concerned with the subject of off-reservation gambling because there are as many as 40 proposals for such casinos in his home state of California. At a hearing on March 15, Pombo said there are some 400 Indian casinos currently in operation in the United States, while 500 tribes have either been approved or are in the approval process. About 200 of those are applying for off-reservation casinos. Pombo’s bill would still allow for casinos on reservation land.

“Off-reservation gaming is a nationwide concern and I knew we had many different opinions and concerns to keep in mind,” said Pombo. “This bill will put local communities in control and encourage economic opportunities for tribes at the same time.”

Both Pombo’s bill in the house and McCain’s bill in the senate are due to be voted on in the next few months.