Federal judge rules on Seneca casino but what now?
The future of the Seneca Nation's Buffalo Creek Casino is as clear as the mud from last night's rain at the construction site of the planned $333 million casino and hotel now being built on the Seneca's nine acres on Michigan Avenue.
U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny gave the Senecas a partial victory, ruling the parcel was indeed Indian country, contrary to the arguments made by casino opponents.
But Skretny also said that a decision by the National Indian Gaming Commission in July 2007, authorizing casino gambling at Buffalo Creek, was arbitrary, capricious and contrary to
law.
In other words, opponents say, keep building but don't expect to operate a casino on the property.
Attorneys for Citizens for a Better Buffalo, which brought the suit, say gambling at the temporary casino, housed since last July in a blue metal building, is illegal and want it shut down. The Senecas say they will keep it open while they ponder their next option with the U.S. Justice Department, which along with the gaming commission, are defendants in the suit.
What should happen now? What if the Senecas continue to lose in court? Should they just abandon the casino construction, due to get its first structural steel in weeks? Could any other use other than casino gambling justify such an expense?
And although the Senecas casino in Niagara Falls is not included in this lawsuit, it too was built with money derived from the Congressional act that repaid the Senecas for 100 years of low-ball leases in Salamanca. Skretny ruled that it was not a land settlement act, one of the few exceptions for off reservation casinos.
What now?
Michael Beebe
