Casino mailing goes to Belmont's neighbors

In its most public effort to date for a Long Island casino, the Shinnecock Indian Nation this week sent 19,000 direct-mail pieces to residents near Belmont Park, calling a gaming facility at the racetrack "an investment in Elmont's economic future."

The tribe said a casino, which still must get state and federal approvals before it could proceed, could contribute 5,500 on-site jobs, 3,400 construction jobs and 12,000 jobs overall, and $200 million for the state and Nassau County. The tract directs recipients to the new Facebook page of an entity called the Alliance for a Belmont Casino.

The moves come as a rival gaming company, Resorts World New York, has emerged critical of a Shinnecock Belmont casino. In recent testimony, a Resorts executive said a Belmont casino would be "a disaster" for that company's new video lottery terminal due at Aqueduct in the fall.

Distribution of the mailer and recent meetings with Elmont civic leaders are the most visible efforts the Shinnecock tribe has made on the gaming front since gaining federal recognition -- and the right to open a casino -- last year. While numerous sites are in play in Suffolk and Nassau, Belmont appears to be the most serious; it also has more community backing than most sites, and its proximity to New York City makes it particularly appealing to the tribe's financial backers at Gateway Casino Resorts.

"We have a serious interest in Belmont, and want to make sure the local community knows that, if we reach an agreement with the state, anything we do there will protect and enhance the quality of life for Elmont and Floral Park," Randy King, chairman of the Shinnecock trustees, said in a statement to Newsday.

Sandra Smith, chairwoman for the Elmont Coalition for Sustainable Development, said she met with tribal leaders a week ago, and she supports a casino at the racetrack. A contingent of state Republican lawmakers, led by Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola), have been advocating for a Belmont casino.

Last month, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said he would "look at the merits of the plan . . . and determine if there is any benefit to the state of New York" before giving it his blessing. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has yet to endorse a plan.

The 9 miles to Aqueduct has made it a target for Genting, the Malaysian casino giant and parent of New York Resorts, which has the right to open a video-lottery parlor there. "It would be disastrous," Fook Yew Au, a Genting official, was quoted in upstate newspapers as saying at a meeting of the New York Racing Association. "We would probably have to close shop."A person close to the Shinnecocks dismissed that assessment as "patently ridiculous."

"There's plenty of room here for everybody, unless greed takes over," the source said.