Whether the latest chapter in the casino dispute between the Seneca Nation and Albany is a matter of disrespect or fear that the state may legalize casino gambling, what is clear is that localities and nonprofits are once again on the losing end.
Seneca Nation leaders have held up $333 million in casino revenue payments to the state and several Western New York host communities since 2009. The Senecas claim that the state violated the terms of its compact by allowing other forms of gambling, including electronic games at area racetracks, into the Seneca "exclusivity" zone.
Earlier this week, the Senecas apparently were on the verge of releasing about $68 million in payments directly to the host communities -- Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Salamanca. Sources said the deal was scuttled because the state's letter to the Senecas agreeing to the deal blamed the Senecas for the delay in settling the two-year-old dispute.
No matter which side is to blame for holding up the $68 million, the localities need the money. Niagara Falls alone is owed $53.1 million in casino revenues. While some of that money would be passed along to other entities, such as the Niagara Falls School District and Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, it's a huge amount of money for a city with a total budget of about $100 million.
Looming over any possible negotiations to settle the dispute over slot machines at racetracks is talk that the state is considering allowing full-fledged casino gambling. Such Las Vegas-style casinos would be a direct threat to the Seneca gambling franchise.
The current compact requires the Senecas to give 25 percent of slot machine revenues to the state, which then shares the money with the host communities. That situation has perplexed Western New York lawmakers.
State Sens. Catharine M. Young, R-Olean, George D. Maziarz, R-Newfane, and Assemblyman Joseph Giglio, R-Gowanda, along with then-Assemblyman Mark Schroeder, D-Buffalo, pushed last year for a state law that would send the money directly to the localities. Robert Odawi Porter, now the Seneca Nation president, said at the time that the tribe prefers to send money directly to the local communities rather than having it pass through the state, which he said causes lengthy delays and red tape.
The dispute between the Senecas and state shouldn't end up punishing the host communities. We hope the Seneca Nation finds a way to send the $68 million to the localities.
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