"To be certain, state lawmakers must do everything they can to revitalize the economy - and pushing forward with casino plans for the Catskills should be in the mix.

But it's no cure-all. Gov. David Paterson is working with federal officials to kick-start this idea, specifically hoping to get three casinos built in the Catskills, a region that has waned as a travel destination for downstate New Yorkers in particular over the decades. There is no doubt New York state is losing considerable revenue by watching its own residents pack up their cars and head to New Jersey or Connecticut to stay at hotels and gamble in casinos there. New York should get in the game, but it should do so cautiously.

Casinos already operate in other parts of New York. But getting just one casino built in the Catskills would be quite a feat, considering the tortured history the state has had on this issue. New York's leaders have botched these efforts through several administrations now, and it still faces considerable federal hurdles and potential lawsuits. The economic downturn also has shown casinos aren't recession-proof, as revenues are down at nearly all of them across the country.

The Paterson administration estimates the casinos would produce thousands of jobs and about $150 million a year in new state revenue. That's no small matter, but it's not exactly the type of money that is going to make a big difference in a $131 billion budget. What's more, the state Constitution prohibits casinos unless they are placed on sovereign Indian land. Under the Bush administration, then-Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne repeatedly rejected applications by tribes to build on some Catskills sites, and with good reason. He argued the proposed locations were too far from the tribes' reservations to provide jobs to those residents and to keep tribal communities intact. He noted one tribe was based about 300 miles away in another part of New York. Another was from Wisconsin."

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Editorial: Casino glitches must get resolved (The Poughkeepsie Journal 9/2)