Pataki to submit Catskills casino, land claim bills

Monday, January 31, 2005  

New York Gov. George Pataki (R) plans to submit bills to the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress to settle pending land claims for gaming rights.

As early as this week, Pataki will ask state lawmakers to approve two more tribal casinos in the Catskills. Currently law allows for three facilities but Pataki has agreed to allow two out-of-state tribes to open casinos there.

In total, Pataki has reached settlements with four tribes: the Cayuga Nation of New York, the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans from Wisconsin and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma. A fifth deal with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe that doesn't involve gaming rights is in the works. The Mohawks were already in line for a Catskills casino independent of the new settlement.

Pataki plans to submit a bill to Congress to cover all tribes, The New York Times reports.

Get the Story:
Catskill Casino Politics: Game of Delicate Balance (The New York Times 1/31)
pwnyt