New York and Senecas, far from revenue agreement

Officials from both sides are still waiting for a casino revenue agreement, even if the Senecas claim the obligations ended a few months ago.

US.- The Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, and the President of Seneca Nation Todd Gates were supposed to meet on Tuesday to discuss casino revenue in the state. Both sides have been very strong about their positions when it comes to the share that casinos pay to hosting cities.

The tribe has shared more than US$1.5 billion over the last few years, and the decision to stop all casino payments to the state seems like a stone along the way for Albany, which receives approximately US$110 million a year and distributes the money to host communities. According to tribe officials, they’re acting upon the terms of the compact that they signed in 2012, which established that they had to share 25 percent of the slot machine revenues from the three casinos.

The Governor said several times that the casino payments should continue, as they’re vital for local economies. Nevertheless, Gates insists that they already fulfilled their obligation. “The state made that obligation to pay the localities. If they want to keep that up, keep it up and we’ll move forward and develop our properties so that we can remain competitive, really. The other ones are developing theirs. They are getting money. They are getting investors. It’s hard for us to do that when there is this cloud hanging out there of him saying things that are not per the compact,” he said as WBFO reported.