Casino news source: Record Online - http://www.recordonline.com
Casino Roulette: Mohawks believe OK's in the cards
MICHELE HASKELL
April 14, 2007
According to the St. Regis Mohawks, the tribe's casino project at the Monticello Gaming & Raceway won't live or die on what Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne thinks about it.
Two tribal chiefs said yesterday that the feds will sign off on the $600 million casino imminently, and the document will be ready for Kempthorne's signature possibly within days.
Once on his desk, Kempthorne can't reject the project based on his opinions about off-reservation gaming, tribal Chiefs Lorraine White and Jim Ransom told the Times Herald-Record editorial board yesterday in Middletown.
White said that Kempthorne is bound by federal law to allow land — in this case just less than 30 acres — to be taken into trust for the casino.
But there's a big if. Kempthorne, who opposes off-reservation casinos, is under no time constraint to act on his staff's recommendation. He could sit on the application for the rest of his term, delaying the project for 18 months.
Ransom dismissed that. "It is a pessimistic viewpoint and we don't share it. It is our intention to get him to sign."
But that might be a case of wishful thinking. Kempthorne has sent more than two dozen tribes with off-reservation casino dreams, including the Mohawks, a letter indicating that final approval is not guaranteed.
In a recent interview with the Times Herald-Record, Sen. Chuck Schumer said that Kempthorne is the key to getting the Mohawk project approved. Schumer has spoken with Kempthorne. The Mohawks and their partner, Empire Resorts, have not. After speaking with Kempthorne, Schumer was left with the impression it would be a real fight to get it passed.
Aside from opposing off-reservation casinos, Schumer said Kempthorne is also worried that by approving the Mohawk project, he will open the flood gates to roughly 50 other off-reservation Indian casino projects, in California, Wisconsin and elsewhere.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Indian Affairs couldn't reached yesterday.
Empire Resorts President and CEO Dave Hanlon said during the editorial meeting that Kempthorne's staff within the Bureau of Indian Affairs strongly supports the casino project. But, he said, Kempthorne's still needs to be convinced.
"That is not an automatic by any means," he said.
A "green" casino, with smoking?
The Mohawks announced that their casino would be green — that is, built in an environmentally friendly way by standards known as "LEED" (Leadership and Environmental Design). As of yet, the Mohawks have not decided how green their building will be. It would be the only casino in the northeast seeking LEED certification.
The casino, however, might not be smoke-free.
Ransom said that the Mohawks have had internal discussions about smoking, and believe that smoking will eventually disappear in the casino because the market is changing.
But for now they haven't made a decision on whether they'll allow people to puff away in the first green casino. |
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