New York’s Seneca Nation kept its temporary Buffalo casino open last week despite a “notice of violation” and a closure deadline from the National Indian Gaming Commission. Seneca is appealing the notice.
The five-day notice gave the tribe until September 8 to correct the violation by closing the casino to comply with federal law. U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny ruled July 8 that NIGC erred in finding the downtown casino’s site legal for tribal gaming. He ordered NIGC to act on the ruling August 26.
The appeal starts an NIGC review that could last a month or more. Seneca expects to explore all legal avenues to keep the casino open.
The federal Interior and Justice departments are working with NIGC to decide whether appeal Skretny’s decision, which vacated NIGC’s approval of Seneca’s site-specific Class III gaming ordinance for the Buffalo Creek Casino.
The site is sovereign land, but cannot be used for gaming because it was obtained after passage of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, the judge ruled. It does not meet IGRA’s land-claim settlement exception as Seneca
contends, Skretny said.
Seneca is hoping those appeals succeed to moot the notice, says Seneca Nation President Maurice John.
“If the U.S. government were to appeal and be upheld on the merits, or if the commission were to approve the new gaming ordinance, the premise on which the notice of violation is based would be obviated and the Seneca Nation would be proved correct in its interpretation of the applicable law in this case,” John wrote to NIGC Chairman Phil Hogen.
Seneca opened the temporary Buffalo Creek in July 2007 with 135 slots. It drew so many players that the tribe soon added 109 slots, expanding the windowless metal building to 10,000 square feet.
The temp stands on nine acres where Seneca started building the permanent hotel-casino complex last year. It was due to open in 2010 with 2,000 slot machines and 206 hotel suites, but last month the tribe said it was suspending construction on the $333 million project until “the appropriate time” because of economic conditions.
The tribe faces an NIGC fine of $25,000 each day Buffalo Creek has operated past September 8.
“I can assure you of one thing,” said Cornelius D. Murray, a lawyer for the anti-casino Citizens for a Better Buffalo. “We won’t accept some form of wrist-slapping here. As a practical matter, there is no way to continue the gambling and still comply with the law unless there is a stay of Judge Skretny’s ruling, which we shall vigorously oppose.”
