In early June, Pataki submitted a bill seeking to approve the terms of a land claim settlement agreement between the state and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indians that would have allowed the St. Regis Mohawks and development partner Caesar's Entertainment (which recently merged with Harrah's) to build its planned 742-room hotel and 134,000-sf casino at the Kutsher's Sports Academy property. The project is expected to cost more than $500 million to build and would create nearly 4,000 permanent jobs and hundreds of construction jobs.
A spokesman for Bruno says the senator is "supporting three casinos because that is state law. Right now there is nothing standing in the way of getting three land claims settled and three casinos under way." He adds that Bruno's son, who is a paid lobbyist for the Oneidas of Wisconsin, an Indian tribe that is seeking to develop a casino in the Catskills, never lobbied him directly on the casino issue and his son's position as a lobbyist had nothing to do with the senator's position against the Pataki bill.
Back in April, Pataki withdrew a bill that would have allowed five Native American casinos to be built in Sullivan County. The governor withdrew the bill based on a March 29 US Supreme Court ruling concerning Native American Indian sovereignty, property rights and taxation. At the time he said the case affected four land claim settlement accords with tribes that were proposing casinos in Sullivan County. However, the "Sherrill case" ruling had no impact on the Akwesasne land claim agreement, he stated several months ago and subsequently submitted a new bill asking the legislature to approve the Mohawk land claim. A spokesman for the governor added that Pataki "remains committed to obtaining the necessary state and federal approvals to finalize the Akwesasne Mohawk settlement agreement and to the development of casinos in Sullivan County."
In a ruling that supports the Sherrill case decision, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals earlier this week overturned a lower court ruling that ordered New York State to pay $248 million to the Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayugas of Oklahoma in respect to a land claim of 64,000 acres of upstate land the state purchased in the 1800s. The Cayuga Nation of New York has a proposal to build a casino at Monticello Raceway, while the Seneca-Cayuga tribe plans to build a gaming facility at the Concord Resort. Both tribes plan to build the casino ventures with development partner Empire Resorts of Monticello.
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