Auburn Mayor Tim Lattimore and those who support his push for a casino resort in the city may want to pay close attention to the legal fight taking place over the Seneca Indian Nation's casino project in Buffalo.
Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County has gone to federal court in an effort to stop a project there that has been approved by the state and federal government. The project opponents are engaged in the familiar battle over whether the casino site is sovereign territory, but they've also come up with another legal argument that could doom the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma's efforts to open a gambling palace in Auburn.
It turns out that a provision in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 generally prohibits gaming on lands acquired by tribes after 1988, even if they're deemed sovereign. The Seneca-Cayugas' plans would certainly fall into that category.
And even the counter-arguments offered in the Buffalo case could not help the Seneca-Cayugas.
The government - which supports the casino in Buffalo - said the IGRA does not apply in that case because the Senecas bought their Buffalo property in 2005 as part of a land claim settlement reached in 1990.
There is no such land claim settlement to site for the Seneca-Cayugas. Remember, their land claim has been nullified by the U.S. Supreme Court. It's over. There's nothing to settle.
Of course this latest development is just one of many reasons the pursuit of a casino in Auburn could be wasted energy.
As we've noted before, there seems to be absolutely no political will to get this project approved at the state level. Banking on a new governor could be risky business. And there's considerable momentum for further restrictions of such activity on the federal level.
The mayor is obviously interested in advancing Auburn but he should be able to answer how he will overcome this never-ending list of hurdles. Taxpayers deserve to know that their time isn't being wasted.
It turns out that a provision in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 generally prohibits gaming on lands acquired by tribes after 1988, even if they're deemed sovereign. The Seneca-Cayugas' plans would certainly fall into that category.
And even the counter-arguments offered in the Buffalo case could not help the Seneca-Cayugas.
The government - which supports the casino in Buffalo - said the IGRA does not apply in that case because the Senecas bought their Buffalo property in 2005 as part of a land claim settlement reached in 1990.
There is no such land claim settlement to site for the Seneca-Cayugas. Remember, their land claim has been nullified by the U.S. Supreme Court. It's over. There's nothing to settle.
Of course this latest development is just one of many reasons the pursuit of a casino in Auburn could be wasted energy.
As we've noted before, there seems to be absolutely no political will to get this project approved at the state level. Banking on a new governor could be risky business. And there's considerable momentum for further restrictions of such activity on the federal level.
The mayor is obviously interested in advancing Auburn but he should be able to answer how he will overcome this never-ending list of hurdles. Taxpayers deserve to know that their time isn't being wasted.
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Steve S. wrote on Jul 31, 2006 7:13 PM:
steve wrote on Jul 31, 2006 12:00 PM: