A new casino might not be in the offing for Rochester after all.
"Not one in the Rochester area, or in Monroe County, potentially nowhere else,” said Assemblyman Harry Bronson.
The potential for a new Seneca Nation casino here has been part of the negotiations between the Senecas and New York state as they hammer out a new gaming compact.
An initial agreement in principle included an additional casino license, and the Senecas have long eyed Rochester. Bronson and others pushed back, arguing the market is saturated. Intense talks last week aimed to get lawmakers on board. But time ran out, and the Assembly adjourned.
It's not clear what will still be on the negotiating table when talks resume in the coming days or weeks.
“All indications that we're getting is that they are indeed negotiating a different approach that would not include a casino in Monroe County,” Bronson said. “But it's not a done deal. It’s still negotiations.”
That different direction could, as a tradeoff, change the amount of revenue sharing required from the Senecas. But that has impacts elsewhere, as it would equate to tens of millions of dollars less for the state and localities where the Senecas have gaming facilities.
In a statement, the Hochul administration described the recent talks as “productive” and said officials "look forward to continuing to work toward an agreement that works for all parties."
A spokesman for the Seneca Nation declined to elaborate on the discussions. In a statement issued late last week, Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong Sr. said it was “disappointing” that the agreement wasn’t finalized before the Legislature adjourned.
“However, Assembly leadership has indicated a willingness to return to Albany once the Nation and the State are able to finalize fair terms for a new compact. That remains our goal,” he said.
The statement continued:
“We now intend to work until we have final terms that reflect the realities of today’s gaming market, meet the requirements of federal law, and adequately and appropriately defend our economy, our sovereign rights, and our economic future, as well as the substantial economic benefits we have delivered to Western New York over the past two decades.”
The current compact expires in December.
Bronson said the problem was that legislation passed by the Senate authorized the governor to negotiate an amendment and extension to the current compact, and that whatever is negotiated would then be deemed ratified by the Legislature.
"That's just too broad of a delegation to the administration,” Bronson said.
What he and others in the Assembly wanted was a memorandum setting out the negotiated terms that could be released to the public ahead of any vote, allowing time for people to weigh in. Any legislation then would be “based on and limited to what’s in that memorandum of understanding,” he said.
That memo then would have to be referenced also in the Senate legislation, and the Senate was not in session.
