Secretary Kempthorne true to form hasn't approved Catskills casino

6.12.07

Catskill casino a waiting game
By Victor Whitman

Times Herald-Record

Monticello — It's been nearly five months since Gov. Eliot Spitzer OK'd a Catskill casino, in what many saw as a watershed moment.

Now, five months later, the paperwork is ready to go, but still no word from Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on whether he'll approve the St. Regis Mohawk casino at Monticello Gaming & Raceway.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs completed its review more than a month ago.

"Governor Spitzer has spoken on several occasions to Secretary Kempthorne, and he'll continue to press the secretary for his approval," Spitzer's spokeswoman, Christine Pritchard, said. "The conversations were substantive in nature, including the governor's explanation as to why the casino would benefit both the tribe and New York state."

Kempthorne is touring Guam and other American possessions in the Pacific. Spitzer is planning another call when Kempthorne returns this week.

"The Tribe has remained confident and optimistic ," the Mohawks said in a statement yesterday. "We are hopeful approval is in fact imminent."

BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling said that the paperwork is now on the desk of James Cason, a top Interior official who is regarded by the Mohawks and casino supporters in Congress as friendly to the project. He will make a recommendation to the secretary. But Kempthorne opposes off-reservation casinos, concerned that if he approves one, he must approve them all.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer says he doesn't have a good sense of what Kempthorne will do. Kempthorne still must agree to take just less than 30 acres of land into trust. With roughly 30 applications pending across the country for off-reservation casinos, Schumer fears Kempthorne might take no action, delaying the decision for at least another 18 months.

"There will be little to gauge the process at this point until the final call is made," said Charlie Degliomini, a vice president with Empire Resorts, owners of the Raceway.

"This application is under active and imminent consideration. From our perspective, failure is not an option."