Editorial: NY needs casino checks, balances
Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster stands in front of the Seneca Niagara Casino Hotel in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Dyster said his city has lost out on casino revenue for the past two years since the Seneca Indian Nation, which operates the casino in Niagara Falls, started withholding slot machine revenue from New York State over what it regards as state's violation of the casino compact with the nation. The city is caught in the middle and doesn't get its share of casino money the state used to funnel to it. (March 22, 2012) Credit: Heather Ainsworth/Heather Ainsworth
$104 million -- That's the amount of gambling revenue booked in New York's current financial plan from the Seneca and Mohawk nations under their tribal- state compact. Yet it's likely that another year will pass without checks from the Seneca Nation and St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which are withholding millions in payments on the claim that the state violated their compacts by letting racinos operate too close to their casinos. One more reason why New York needs a comprehensive plan that settles these disputes before it expands gaming.
