NY’s turning Stone in Legal Kerfuffle

The state’s largest casino on the emerging gaming scene, the property boasts 19 dining outlets, four hotels -- including two AAA rated four diamond properties -- and two ultra-modern fitness centers. A new spa, Skaná, debuted last fall and was created on the principals of Peace, Balance and Harmony, essential elements to Oneida Indian nation culture. Designed with natural woods, stone, trickling water, fireplaces and authentic American Indian artwork, the spa helps guest attain a natural calm that heighten the sensations of nurture, rest and renewal. 

But the ultra modern resort could potentially lose its gaming license as ongoing negotiations have between the NY and the Oneida’s stalled, preventing the group from agreeing on how to move forward. Basically the Oneida’s worked out a compact in 1993 with the US Department of Interior. The compact, which NY says is invalid, should be renegotiated with the state getting its fair share of taxes. Officials from NY reportedly want about a third of the casino’s take, which is estimated to be worth as much as $50 million a year for NY’s coffers. Right now the Oneidas give nothing to the state, which has many politicos atwitter.

The Oneidas believe the agreement is valid and said the agreement contains language preventing the deal from being reworked almost 15 years after it was first signed. But the state believes the compact was never valid in the first place because it was never approved by the New York State legislature. The Federal Government, via the Bureau of Indian Affairs which is part of the Department of the Interior, can then grant approval on the entire deal. 

Because the Tribe and the State could not come to an agreement, the Department of Interior now has the right to shut the casino down outright. The DOI is scheduled to hand down its ruling in June on whether to nullify the original agreement.

However, for now it looks as if the dice will continue rolling.

According to the AP, the National Indian Gaming Commission, a division of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, has warned the Oneida’s repeatedly during the last few years to work out an amenable agreement with the state or risk potential closure.
Oneida Nation lawyer Michael Smith told the AP he “has submitted a formal request for a new agreement under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and that the Interior Department should let the process run its course.”

State Assemblyman David Townsend, R-Sylvan Beach, told the Observer Dispatch Monday night he agrees with the state's position that Turning Stone never had a compact in the first place.

"I feel the secretary should enforce the law against an illegal operation and tell the Oneidas to come to the table and negotiate an agreement that is fair and equitable to all parties," Townsend said. "And until such time, the casino should be shut down."

Thee Tribe is also looking to put an additional 17,000 acres of land into federal trust. When land is put into trust it becomes a quasi-Indian territory where a Tribe can build a casino.

Turning Stone originally opened in July 1993, offering 130 tables of traditional casino games like craps, roulette, blackjack and the money wheel. In 1995, Turning Stone introduced 50 Instant Multi-Game machines, the Oneida Nation's patented cashless answer to traditional slots. Now Turning Stone Resort and Casino offers more than 120,000 square feet of gaming space with a full slate of table games and more than 2,300 slot machines.

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