2002 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA
Executive Newsletter
A daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyond
Stanley F. Bergstein, Editor
WHICH EDITION DO YOU READ?
What happens with the pending construction of an
Indian casino in Niagara Falls, NY, is not an academic
issue for HTA’s member Buffalo Raceway.
If Buffalo CEO Dennis Lang and president Bill
Richardson get confused reading their local newspaper,
the Buffalo News, concerning what is or
what is not happening with the Seneca Indians, it
is understandable. The Seneca Nation signed a
compact with New York governor George E.
Pataki August 18, and declared its intention of
opening a casino in Niagara Falls by Jan. 1.
Today’s City and Region section of the News says
they could begin construction at the Niagara Falls
Convention and Civic Center as early as Tuesday,
provided they can take possession of the building
by then. The compact provided for a takeover
within 30 days. The city doesn’t know if it can get
the building vacated by then, or if the Senecas have
to complete any environmental reviews on the
property before turning it into a casino. But that
is only half of the story. In the same section of
today’s News, the paper’s Washington correspondent
reports that a strongly anti-gambling western
New York Congressman, Rep. John J. LaFalce,
has written to Interior Secretary Gale Norton saying
that a federal court decision this year renders
them ineligible to build in Niagara Falls. LaFalce,
a lawyer, contends that when U.S. Judge Richard
J. Arcara ruled earlier this year that Niagara Falls
is not part of the Senecas’ aboriginal land, it precluded
them being approved for a casino by the
Interior Department. The federal court ruling declared
that “The Seneca Nation’s ancestral lands
were located in the Genesee Valley, not in the
Niagara region,” and LaFalce says that decision
rules out the Senecas right to a Niagara Falls casino.
“The arguments are so tenuous”, he says,
“that Secretary Norton would jeopardize
her credibility if she did that. A lawsuit
would be filed immediately.”
September 4, 2002
OH, AND BY THE WAY.....
In case Secretary Norton doesn’t agree with Congressman
LaFalce and approves the Seneca casino,
Niagara county has told Gov. George Pataki
that it expects to be reimbursed for the 50 acres
of downtown Niagara Falls that the compact gives
to the Senecas. Not for the land, but for the taxes
it will lose, since the properties currently there
generate about $70,000 a year in property taxes,
and the Senecas would be exempt from those
taxes. A spokeswoman for Pataki says he would
consider the request, but that the county will benefit
far more from economic development related
to the casino. Niagara county’s legislature chairman,
Bradley E. Erck, sees it differently. “It’s
kind of stupid,” he says, “that the city of Niagara
Falls is going to reap millions, the state of New
York tens of millions, the Senecas billions, and the
county gets nothing.”
INDIANS AHEAD IN AZ, TOO
Voters in Arizona will be asked to choose this coming
November whether they want to expand Indian
gaming on 17 reservations and keep gambling
there, or instead give gaming to the state’s race
tracks. A poll of 602 registered voters by the Arizona
Republic shows the Indian measure, proposition
202, leading the track measure, proposition
201, 35% to 10%, but 52% of those polled said
they don’t know how they’ll vote.
EXPERIENCED CFO AVAILABLE
An experienced CFO/controller with major racetrack
experience and credentials is available and
looking to relocate. Contact HTA if you would like
to see his resume.
IZZO TO SOBA OF NJ
Mike Izzo, executive director of Harness Horsemen
International for 13 years, is leaving to become
executive administrator of the Standardbred
Breeders and Owners of New Jersey.