Gambling plan in doubt

Friday, May 3, 2002 | 11:04 a.m.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The future of New York casinos may be in doubt after an appellate court decision invalidated an agreement to operate a casino between the state and the St. Regis Mohawk Indian tribe, the New York Times reported today.

The tribe signed an agreement with former Gov. Mario Cuomo to build a casino on its Akwesasne reservation, along the St. Lawrence River, the paper said. Gov. George Pataki and the tribe amended the accord in 1999 to allow the casino to have electronic gambling machines.

Gambling opponents filed a lawsuit, claiming the agreements had to be approved by the Legislature. The State Appellate Division in Albany ruled that the gambling authorized by the compact is contrary to the forms of gambling permitted by the New York Constitution, the paper said. The court's reasoning may signal trouble for existing Indian casinos and a new state law authorizing as many as six new Indian casinos and video gambling machines at several race tracks, the paper said.

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