Senecas Tap Flaum to Explore Fourth Upstate Casino

ROCHESTER, NY-The Seneca Nation of Indians has retained a Flaum Management Co. subsidiary to determine whether a resort casino would work in this upstate city, according to published reports. Flaum's CEO, David Flaum, has worked with the tribe in the past on efforts to build a casino in the Rochester area, in a relationship dating back more than a decade.

“The Seneca Nation is interested in looking for opportunities to grow and complement our gaming operations, consistent with our contractual restrictions under the SGC's current financing,” Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr. says in a statement. “David Flaum and his team have a proven track record and we see this as a good fit.”

The Senecas currently operate casinos in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Salamanca, NY with exclusivity rights that include Rochester and Ontario County. The Buffalo facility is currently being operated at a temporary site; in June, the tribe received the final deed to complete what will be the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino.

A new casino, in the Rochester suburb of Henrietta, NY, could require legislation since it would exceed the tribe's three-casino limit, according to the Rochester Business Journal. The limit was established in a 2002 compact with New York State.

Last month, the tribe transferred a total of nearly $350 million to the state and the municipalities that host its Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel as part of a settlement of a longstanding dispute between the tribe and the state. “We have been very successful building a billion dollar gaming business right here in Western New York, with our Seneca Niagara, Seneca Allegany and Seneca Buffalo Creek facilities,” Snyder said at the time. “In the process, we have created thousands of jobs for Senecas and non-Senecas alike, and have become an important business partner for several local companies, thereby supporting thousands of additional jobs in the local economy.”