"I think it is effectively the end of our case," says Cornelius Murray, an Albany attorney representing a consortium of anti-gaming interests. Murray, president and partner of O'Connell and Aronowitz, says the decision effectively kills any legal challenge to legislation in New York that would give the governor the power to enter into compacts with Indian tribes to develop casinos on Indian land. The 2001 state gaming law allows the governor to authorize up to three casinos in the Catskill region.
He notes that the conclusion of the case does not rule out future litigation regarding lands that are put into trust that are not designated as being Indian reservation land. Murray also says that the conclusion of the case could have the potential to open up other parts of the state to Indian gaming.
L. Todd Diorio, vice president of the pro-casino group the Catskill Casino Coalition, says he believes the court made the right decision not to hear the case. "I hope it will help move things forward." Diorio is also president of the Hudson Valley Building Trades Council. A spokesman for Governor George Pataki says the governor "was very pleased about the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the law allowing us to continue creating jobs and spurring economic development important to people across the state."
The push for Native American casinos has been languishing for months, ever since Pataki and the State Legislature could not come to an agreement on gaming legislation this past summer. Governor Pataki was trying to finalize a deal for one casino with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, while State Senator Joseph Bruno wanted the governor to adhere to the original language of the 2001 state gaming law that called for three Native American casinos in the Catskills. The two sides could not come to an agreement, and the session ended without any deal for a casino in the Catskills.
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