A spokesman for the Shinnecock Indian Nation is saying that the tribe is "optimistic" that its proposal to place video lottery terminals at the famed Aqueduct Racetrack will be accepted by the politicians in New York state.
"It is a very doable situation," Lance Gumbs, a spokesman for the tribe, in upstate New York, said. "It's slightly complicated, but if it was done in phases ... it would be very doable."
The tribe is partnering with Gateway Casino Resorts, LLC, which owns a casino near Detroit, which also runs the Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball team and the Detroit Red Wings professional hockey franchise.
Outside the Box
"This is really feasible," said Gateway spokesman Tom Shields. "We're asking state officials to take a look outside the box."
The tribe wants state and federal officials to craft a solution to the proposal by granting it federal recognition as a tribe and giving them permission to run a casino at Aqueduct, said Gumbs.
If the plan is approved, the tribe will drop plans to construct a casino in the Hamptons, and would end litigation over land disputes.
Some experts and officials, however, said the plan stands no chance of succeeding. The Cayuga Indian Nation, for example, has been trying for years to open a casino in the Catskills off its reservation, said Albany Law School professor Bennett Liebman.
"If it isn't working with the Cayugas, who are a federally recognized tribe ... it's very unlikely to work with the Shinnecocks until such time as they do get federal recognition," said Liebman.
The tribe was one of seven organizations that submitted bids to operate 4,500 video lottery terminals at Aqueduct.
The 4,500 video lottery terminal machines at Aqueduct could produce $400 a day each, or about $650 million a year, with the state receiving half, about $325 million, experts said.
A larger casino would generate at least $536 million in revenue for the state the first year, experts said.
According to Gumbs, there is a lot of competition for the project. The Seneca tribe in upstate New York, the Mohegan tribe in Connecticut and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which runs the Foxwoods casino complex in Connecticut, also submitted bids.
"They're coming down into our territory," Gumbs said.
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