Seneca Nation Appeals To Keep Temporary Buffalo, NY Casino Open

Buffalo, NY (AHN) - The Seneca Nation of Indians on Thursday filed an expected appeal to continue building its Buffalo Creek Casino a day after the National Indian Gaming Commission told the tribe its casino couldn't be built on the land it had purchased.

The "notice of violation" from the Gaming Commission on Wednesday came after United States District Judge William Skretny found that the land the Seneca tribe had purchased did not qualify for a gambling site.

Skretny had reportedly said then that he would follow through and shut down the temporary casino operating in downtown Buffalo. However, so far the closure is only temporary.

The National Indian Gaming Commission issued its "notice of violation" telling the Senecas that they might have to shut down in five days or face a fine of $25,000 dollars a day if they didn't, but the Commission didn't order the temporary slots-only casino shut down and the Seneca's are appealing the threat of closure.

After Skretny's ruling in July, the Seneca Nation suspended construction work on the $333 million permanent Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino, but attributed that to a weakened national economy and not Skretny's rulings.

In the meantime, the Senecas have expressed confidence that its right to operate its casino will eventually be upheld.

"We are confident that the Nation's gaming rights will be recognized on our sovereign Buffalo Creek territory for the benefit of the Western New York economy," Seneca Nation President Maurice John Sr. said in a prepared statement, according to Buffalo Business First newspaper.

In the meantime, under a 2002 agreement, the Seneca Nation of Indians paid New York State 22 percent of its take from its slot-machine gambling operations state-wide from July 2007 through December. That amounted to $57.3 million, including $2.8 million from the temporary casino in Buffalo.