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Andrew Cuomo and NY Const. Art. 1, Sec. 3

Upstate Casinos? Vote NO

Tribal nations have hard deadline to settle or face casino competition

Posted on May 9, 2013 at 12:21 pm by James M. Odato in Casinos, featured

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday revealed that he is talking with the Oneida, Mohawk and Seneca nations on solidifying exclusivity deals for casino regions, but he needs to close down those talks before the end of this session.
In outlining his vision for casino expansion for upstate, Cuomo said the Oneida are interested in acquiring exclusivity rights for the central New York region and that disputes over existing exclusivity deals with the Seneca and Mohawk tribes are unresolved after lengthy negotiations. If deals are not in place soon with all three tribal governments, he said, the regions where the tribes operate casinos will be put in play for casino development along with three other upstate regions that are without tribal casinos, although they have racetrack “racinos.”
Cuomo said he wants to get a deal with the Legislature that would identify up to six upstate regions for commercial casinos and that he intends to set up a temporary selection committee to choose the best projects based on a proposed operator’s willingness to pay for the rights immediately and over time through taxation. He said counties that host casinos would get a piece of the action even if the county is only part of the region where the facility would be located.
Cuomo said he has made casino expansion a high priority because upstate’s economy is on a steady slide.