August 14, 2023 | salamancapress.com
SALAMANCA — Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong, Sr. updated the Seneca people Friday on negotiations with New York state over a new gaming compact, which he indicated was not going well.
Armstrong called the latest proposals from state negotiators “absurd and an insult to the Seneca Nation.” Nevertheless, Seneca leaders are committed to a fair and equitable agreement, he said.
In early June, Armstrong announced an agreement in principle on a new compact with negotiators from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
“While the state’s negotiators offered and agreed to an important provision to a new agreement, the state Assembly refused to move forward with required legislation to allow the governor to sign an agreement after it met approval by the Seneca People and the Department of the Interior,” Armstrong said in a video message to the Seneca people.
Negotiators were unable to overcome objections from Assembly members blindsided by a provision in the compact that would have included a new Seneca casino in the city of Rochester. Unions representing workers at the Del Lago Resort and Casino in Waterloo, just outside the Seneca gaming exclusivity zone, were also opposed.
Seneca and state negotiators agreed to resume compact negotiations over the summer, Armstrong said.
Over the past several weeks, Seneca officials have met in roundtable discussions with community leaders from Salamanca, Niagara Falls and Buffalo “to ask for their support for a fair and equitable agreement.” That support was forthcoming.
A scheduled meeting with the state negotiating team in July was postponed due to scheduling conflicts.
When Seneca and state negotiators met earlier this week, Armstrong said, “We expected to pick up where we left off back in June. While we remain in agreement on a majority of points related to the compact, the matter of fair exclusivity value remains unresolved.”
State negotiators “continue to propose exclusivity terms that are unfair and unacceptable to the Nation,” Armstrong declared. “In fact, the state’s latest proposal was significantly more than what they were proposing back in June.”
Armstrong said, “We believe there is a benefit and a value to exclusivity for our gaming operations, but that value must be reasonably reflected in a payment agreement.”
More than 10 years ago, the Senecas suspended casino payments to the state over the exclusivity issue. The Nation pointed to casinos at several racetracks in the Seneca exclusivity zone including Hamburg Racetrack, Batavia Downs and Canandaigua that were cutting into their margins. The Nation and state later settled.
The video was posted on YouTube and other social media including Facebook and X, formerly Twitter.
In the video, Armstrong says, “With the monumental changes that have taken place in New York’s gaming landscape since our current compact was signed, it’s beyond unreasonable to expect the Nation would pay anything that exceeds the true value of what we are actually receiving in return. To do so would be ridiculous and unfair to our people and in conflict with the purpose and true intent of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.”
The Senecas began withholding payments to the state from slot machines at casinos in Salamanca, Niagara Falls and Buffalo soon after the compact was renewed for a third seven-year period.
Despite bonding arbitration and several court decisions, the Senecas continued to challenge that the compact did not call for payments past the 14th year.
Hochul ended that stalemate when the state froze Seneca bank accounts and they capitulated and made the payment.
Armstrong did not say when negotiations with the state would resume but noted there were 122 days before the current compact expires at the end of the year.
He reassured the Seneca people that Seneca leaders are resolved “to continue negotiating and defending Seneca rights until a fair and reasonable agreement is reached.”
Seneca Gaming employs more than 3,500 people at its three casinos and two hotels.
