The Seneca Gaming Corporation, which operates three casinos in Western New York on behalf of the Seneca Indians, says it has acquired 32 acres of land in Henrietta for a potential casino.
The land is on Clay Road, near I-390 and Jefferson and E. Henrietta Roads. There are no definite development plans yet, but the Seneca's say they feel the site, and the Rochester market in general, are ideally suited for a full-scale gaming and entertainment operation, including a casino, hotel, restaurants and other retail space.
The Seneca Gaming Corporation believes such an operation cold create 2400 construction jobs and eventually 5,000 direct and indirect jobs, including 2000 on-site.
The Senecas say that now that they have acquired the land, they will begin the process of engaging area leaders and the community in a dialogue on how such a development could happen.
There has already organized opposition to the idea, including from a group called "No More Casinos" which has backing from area Off Track Betting and horse racing operations. That group showed up in force at a recent Henrietta Town Board meeting to present petitions opposing the casino.
On Monday, the "No More Casinos" group issued a statement calling on the Henrietta Town Board to take action to prevent the building of a casino. The group is concerned about a number of issues, including the impact on traffic in the area, and they also feel a casino would hurt many of the small businesses that are nearby. The opponents also say that an Indian-owned casino would not generate the same kinds of tax revenue that a privately run operation, like a racino, now collects.
