Ray Halbritter: Gaming deal paves way to a brighter future

There is a sacred Native American proverb that says "We will be known forever by the tracks we leave." These are words that are particularly poignant as we joined with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and leaders from Oneida and Madison counties last week to take historic steps into a brighter future.

If ratified by each of the respective governing bodies, the casino agreement would make the state and counties partners and investors in our enterprises in exchange for our commitment to share revenues with the state.

We see this as a welcome and long overdue way to codify and expand what we've already been doing for more than two decades. This agreement represents sovereign governments joining together to say in one voice that we can take more positive steps forward together as partners than as adversaries.