Monday, October 15, 2007

Shinnecock would swap casino proposal for gaming contract at Aqueduct race track

10.15.07

Shinnecocks aim to swap casino for Aqueduct gaming

The Shinnecock Indian Nation will consider dropping its controversial bid to construct a casino in Southampton, the tribe said yesterday, if it is allowed to build a full-scale gambling operation at Aqueduct.

When the state receives bids to operate 4,500 video lottery terminals at the Queens racetrack today, the tribe will submit what one trustee called "an alternative proposal" asking for 10,600 slot machines and 350 gaming tables spread out over 490,000 square feet there.

"It's really a proposal that we think is worth looking at and we're really hoping the state takes us seriously on this," said Lance Gumbs, a senior Shinnecock trustee.

The tribe is also dangling a projected $400 million in tax revenue to the state in the first year, anticipating $2.1 billion in gaming revenues. But state officials say the Shinnecocks' plan is premature because the tribe has yet to be federally recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs - a necessary first step in the process.

"The state cannot consider a casino until the question of federal recognition of the tribe is resolved," said Christine Pritchard, a spokeswoman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

Although a federal judge recognized the Shinnecocks as a bona fide tribe in 2005, the bureau has yet to follow suit, saying a decision might not be made until 2014. The bureau has said it can't get to the Shinnecocks' case until 2009, and that a decision couldn't be made until five years after that. That approval is needed for any casino development.

Gumbs said the tribe is hopeful it can convince the bureau sooner, saying they've discovered congressional reports up through the 1950s that acknowledged the Shinnecocks on a federal list of tribes.

If that happens, Pritchard said, the governor and legislature would have to approve plans for a casino.

Asked about the governor's feelings on a casino operation vastly larger than what has been envisioned for Aqueduct, Pritchard said it's too soon to comment. Last month, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said a majority of his colleagues oppose any expansion of gambling machines beyond the 4,500 terminals proposed at Aqueduct.

"The speaker believes we should go forward with the plan that's already been adopted in legislation," Dan Weiller, a spokesman for Silver, said yesterday.

Any agreement for a casino between the state and the tribe would be subject to further federal approvals, Pritchard said, and could invite feedback from the city as well as the state.

Stu Loeser, a spokesman for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said they hadn't seen the plans yet and could not comment, but added the mayor generally does not favor gambling.

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