State police investigating bar service at the Turning Stone

Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000 | 1:02 a.m.

Bartenders inside the ballroom at the casino's convention center offered free wine, beer, and mixed drinks to attendees at a Chrysler dealer's conference Friday evening.

That went against the state's ban against alcoholic beverages being sold at the reservation without permission from the state.

"Allowing liquor to be served at the Turning Point Casino is a clear violation of state and federal law and the state police are looking into it," said William Van Slyke, a spokesman for Gov. George Pataki.

The Oneidas say no laws were broken, since an ordinance allowing the nation to serve liquor through vendors with state liquor licenses was approved by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs in December.

But the state hasn't issued any special permits to allow vendors to sell alcohol at the casino, because it wants to ensure state regulators will monitor sales once they are started. Since an unlicensed vendor brought the alcohol into the casino, State Liquor Authority spokeswoman Maris Hart said, it would be up to the state police and not the SLA to take action on the incident.

The nation has scoffed at this, saying it would be akin to having state regulators at a wedding or other catered event.

When Turning Stone opened in 1993, the Oneidas put "principles ahead of profits" and decided not to serve liquor because of all the turmoil it had caused in the lives of Native Americans over the years.

The Oneidas now say they must add alcohol to compete with other casino resorts for convention business. The Akwesasne Mohawk Casino in northern New York and Casino Niagara in Canada just north of Buffalo serve alcoholic beverages.