Editorial: Show the cards for off-reservation casino in Catskills

"If that casino that the Stockbridge-Munsee Indian tribe wants to build in the Catskills indeed becomes a reality, the cards will, of course, come mostly face down in its games of chance. Whether the hand will be a full house or not even a pair of deuces is what gambling is all about.

Right now, however, long before the casino is built, all the cards in that $700 million deal that Governor Paterson sprung on New York last month should be on the table -- and face up.

How did this deal, negotiated by a lame-duck governor, come about anyhow? And how might negotiations proceed, especially once the Cuomo administration takes over? It's not like anyone outside the governor's office and the Stockbridge-Munsee tribal leadership expected it, or had much of an inkling of even the possibility of it.

Yes, the governor has the right to make these deals. The Legislature saw to that, in all its predictable rashness, nine years and two administrations ago.

Now's time for full public examination of all the details and pending details of a deal that the governor's office says had been in the works for five years."

Get the Story:
Editorial: New York needs to see the cards (The Albany Times-Union 12/20)

Related Stories:
Stockbridge Munsee Band talks off-reservation casino with DOI (12/13)
John Echohawk: Stockbridge Munsee Band deal on strong footing (12/8)
Opinion: Deal for Catskills off-reservation casino going nowhere (12/3)
Editorial: New York governor hides deal for offreservation casino (12/1)
Opinion: A bad bet on the off-reservation casino in the Catskills (11/29)
Stockbridge Munsee Band seeks land claim exception for casino (11/23)
New York governor expected to announce off-reservation casino (11/22)
Editorial: A bad deal for an off-reservation casino in the Catskills (11/22)
Editorial: No dice for the off-reservation casino in the Catkskills (11/19)
Stockbridge Munsee casino faces major opposition in New York (11/18)
NRDC Blog: Off-reservation casino not so great for the Catskills (11/18)
Stockbridge Munsee Band reaches deal for casino in New York (11/17)