In one of two lawsuits against the New York Gaming Commission, a judge in New York ruled this week that the Oneida Nation has the right to view documents regarding a rival commercial casino.
Statistical and factual data regarding the $425 million Tyre, Seneca County project currently under construction was ordered released by Justice Vincent Reilly, according to the Associated Press. The information had been previously denied to the tribe following a Freedom of Information (FOI) law request. Lee Park, spokesman for the state Gaming Commission, said the judge’s decision, which was handed down earlier in the week, was being reviewed. It’s unclear whether or not there will be an appeal. A decision has not been rendered in the tribe’s other lawsuit challenging the commission’s decision to award the gaming license to the casino developer
The del Lago Resort & Casino, which recently changed its name, was one of three casinos granted licenses by the gaming commission in December along with the Montreign Resort Casino at Adelaar and Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady after being chosen by the state’s special location board. Since the December approval, de Lago has been plagued by lawsuits and opponents including, Casino Free Tyre, and the Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone and Yellow Brick Road casinos, and Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack (FLGR). Opponents disapprove of a new gaming destination that, according to them, will cannibalize their businesses, harm local economies and create significant environmental impacts.
De Lago would be located on the edge of the Oneida’s exclusivity zone, an issue that is raised in the lawsuit. In a statement, the tribe said, “When the Oneida Indian Nation and a majority of New Yorkers supported the measure to expand gaming, we supported a very clear law — one that mandated a review formula requiring new gaming facilities to prove they will create new jobs, rather than simply cannibalizing local economies,” and, “That new law did not empower the Gaming Commission to create an arbitrary make-it-up-as-you go licensing process that allows commissioners to change their review criteria on a whim.”
In addition to the casino’s 2,000 slot machines, 85 gaming tables, 207-room hotel and spa, the venue will include a unique shop, Savor New York. The shop will highlight products from the region including, local beers, wines, whiskeys, crafts and foods. The newly renamed resort and casino is expected to employ 1,250 to 1,500 workers and is on pace to open in February 2017.
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