DOI putting off Mohawk casino, New York lawmaker says

Monday, May 7, 2007

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is leaving a decision on the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's off-reservation casino to the next presidential administration, a New York state lawmaker says.

Kempthorne opposes off-reservation gaming, Senator John Bonacic told business leaders. “If he signs off, there would be a shovel in the ground tomorrow. If he doesn’t, it depends on who the next president is,” Bonacic said, The Mid-Hudson News Network reported. “If it’s a Hillary Clinton, if it’s an Obama, or it’s a Giuliani, and think we get a casino, because they will replace that Department of Interior and they are, I think, sympathetic to have a casino in Sullivan County.”

As part of a court case, Kempthorne recently agreed to delay a decision on the tribe's land-into-trust application for the casino until environmental issues can be resolved.

Get the Story:
Casino approval could be a year off, says Bonacic (The Mid-Hudson News Network 5/6)