Pataki, Cayuga agree on N.Y. casino

Friday, June 11, 2004 | 9:10 a.m.

BLOOMBERG NEWS

ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York Gov. George Pataki and Cayuga Indian leaders said Thursday they have a non-binding agreement to settle a tribal land claim and advance a planned casino in the Catskill Mountains northwest of New York City.

A memorandum of understanding signed by Pataki and Cayuga representative Timothy Twoguns would require the state to pay the tribe $247.9 million, allow the Cayugas to buy up to 10,000 acres from willing sellers in Seneca and Cayuga counties, and require the state to negotiate a Cayuga gaming compact, according to a news release from the governor's office.

The compact would be an important step in the tribe's effort to build a $500 million casino on 30 acres at Monticello Raceway in Sullivan County, about 95 miles from Manhattan. The Cayugas' development partner is Empire Resorts Inc.

In a news release, Empire Resorts called the signing of the non-binding deal "a key project objective" and said it was hoping to receive all casino approvals by Sept. 30. Chief Executive Officer Robert Berman called the agreement "a major factor in mobilizing the approvals and resources necessary to move into the final stages of the development process."

Twoguns said in a written statement provided by Pataki's office, "This settlement will enable the Cayuga people to establish itself in its traditional lands, which it lost more than 200 years ago. It will also provide us with damages for our long displacement, and financial security."

The Cayugas are the only one of New York's Iroquois tribes with no land in the state.

The deal faces several hurdles and would require approval by Congress, the Seneca-Cayuga tribe of Oklahoma and county lawmakers in Seneca and Cayuga counties in New York's Finger Lakes region. Last year, Pataki announced a deal with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe toward building a $500 million Catskills casino to be run by Caesars Entertainment Inc. That deal remains mired in lawsuits, regulatory issues and tribal politics, including a leadership change and repudiation of the tribe's agreement with the state.

A law Pataki signed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks allows up to six Indian-run casinos in New York, in addition to the two that previously existed near Syracuse and Massena. The Seneca Indians have opened casinos in the Buffalo area. None of the three casinos authorized for the Catskills Mountain area has been built.

A 2002 land claim settlement Pataki announced with the Oneida Indians of New York fell apart after Oneida tribes in Wisconsin and Canada objected.

The Cayugas won their 64,015-acre land claim against New York State in 2001 when a federal judge ruled the state illegally took the land more than 200 years ago and ordered New York to pay the tribe $247.9 million. The state would drop its appeal of that ruling under the agreement announced today.

The agreement would require the state to pay the tribe $247.9 million over 14 years. The tribe could use the money to buy up to 10,000 acres from willing sellers in Seneca and Cayuga counties and to exercise tribal sovereignty on the land, meaning the acreage would come off local tax rolls.

To compensate Seneca and Cayuga counties, the state and the Cayugas each would pay $3 million annually to the counties, according to Pataki's news release.