$500M Monticello Raceway Casino Proposal Is Back on Track

ALBANY, NY-A Native American casino venture that was nearing construction several months ago, only to be dashed when land claim litigation talks stalled, has resurfaced once again. On Thursday, the Cayuga Nation of New York and New York State signed a formal settlement agreement concerning a land claim dispute over property in the Finger Lakes that had dragged on for more than two decades.

Back in August, when the Cayuga Nation of New York and its development partner Empire Resorts Inc. appeared poised to break ground on the $500-million Cayuga Catskill Resort project, talks on the land claim settlement agreement broke down. However, with Thursday’s announcement that a settlement agreement had been reached, the gaming facility at Monticello Raceway appears to be back in front and the likely first casino project to break ground in the Catskills. The Cayuga Nation is awaiting approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs on a land in trust agreement in connection with the gaming facility project.

Congress and the New York State Legislature must ratify the settlement agreement signed by Gov. George Pataki and Cayuga Nation of New York Representative Clint Halftown. “The agreement will allow us to move forward with plans to establish a second casino in the Catskills, which would create thousands of new jobs and provide a tremendous boost to the region’s economy,” says Pataki. “Our agreement would also establish retail tax parity between Cayuga and non-Cayuga vendors, which demonstrates again that we can achieve parity with the Indian nations in a spirit of cooperation, not confrontation.”