Potential Seneca gaming facility in Monroe County likely still part of compact negotiations

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Negotiations on a new gaming compact between New York State and the Seneca Nation of Indians quite likely still involve a possible gaming facility within Monroe County.

The current compact was set to expire on Saturday, but Gov. Kathy Hochul and Seneca Nation President Rickey L. Armstrong Sr. last week announced a four-month extension. That keeps terms of the existing compact in effect through March 31, unless the parties come to a new agreement sooner.

What isn’t known, however, is whether the Seneca Nation is still pushing for permission to operate a new facility in the Rochester area. Assemblymember Harry Bronson (D-Rochester) said he assumes the matter has not been quashed.

“I can’t imagine that not having a casino is fully off the table,” Bronson said. “It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if it were, but I can’t imagine that is the case.”

Armstrong and the governor’s office had agreed to a new compact back in June, but the deal imploded after Rochester-area political leaders, lawmakers, unions and gaming facility operators learned the state was willing to allow creation of a casino in the city or Monroe County.

The backlash likely has taken the city out of the equation in the current compact negotiations. But Bronson assumes other sites in the county are part of the discussion, if not for a full casino then for a gaming facility similar to Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack (operated by Delaware North) and Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel (operated by Western Regional Off-Track Betting).

“I don’t believe that a location in the city of Rochester is still on the table,” said Bronson, chair of the Assembly’s committee on economic development, job creation, commerce and industry. “Certainly, it was pulled off at one point, but as you well know, there’s no deal until there’s a final deal. That being said, there’s concerns about a location in any area of Monroe County.”

The secretive plan to allow the Seneca Nation to launch gaming operations in Rochester nearly received approval from New York lawmakers in June. The Senate on June 9 approved a new compact, mostly without the full elected body knowing details on how it would impact Monroe County, several senators said.

But when news of a potential casino in the Rochester area broke in the days that followed, the Assembly refused to vote on the measure and several senators made it clear they were opposed to the plan.

That pushed the parties back to the negotiating table, and Bronson believes Hochul and Armstrong will continue to discuss some sort of gaming facility within Monroe County. Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D-Rochester) said he would again be opposed.

“I am actively following the negotiations between New York and the Seneca Nation,” Cooney said. “If the gaming compact includes a new casino operation in Rochester, then I would again vote no. This is not what our community needs or wants.”

His office said Cooney also opposes any new gaming facility in the county.

The current gaming compact gives the Seneca Nation the right to operate three full-fledged casinos with slot machines, table games and a sports book. With locations in downtown Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Salamanca, they have maxed out their allotment under the current compact.

The Greater Rochester area has one full casino — del Lago Resort & Casino in the Seneca County town of Tyre — as well as two facilities that offer video lottery terminals (VLTs): Finger Lakes Gaming and Batavia Downs. The VLTs are essentially slot machines. Finger Lakes and Batavia also offer horse racing for about seven months each year.

Lawmakers fear that the region is already saturated and that another gaming facility would cannibalize discretionary income and adversely impact jobs at existing casinos.

“The same issues are still out there,” Bronson said, “and that is the selection of a location and what adverse impact that will have on the neighborhood, the impact that will have on the employees of the existing casinos and lastly, is this really an economic development benefit for us.”

Under the current compact, the Seneca Nation pays 25 percent of gross slot machine revenues to the state. That will most assuredly be lowered, Bronson said.

“The percentage that they’re contributing now is very high as compared to other compacts across the country,” Bronson said. “There’s no way they’re going to be able to keep that level of percentage. That percentage of revenue sharing is directly related to their authorization to operate business.”

Until the announcement of an extension, little had been shared publicly about compact negotiations, which are being handled by Hochul and her office. Hochul had recused herself from original talks because her husband, William, was employed by Delaware North. His departure from the Buffalo-based entertainment and hospitality giant cleared a path for her take the reins for the state.

“With the signing of this (extension) agreement, there is important momentum for negotiations around the compact,” Hochul said in a news release. “I remain committed to working with President Armstrong and the Seneca Nation in finalizing an agreement that is fair to all parties, and I look forward to more conversations in the coming weeks and months as we continue to meet.”

Said Armstrong: “Under the extension, our three gaming properties will continue to operate without interruption, alleviating any concerns about potential impacts for our thousands of casino employees, which was a priority for the Nation. In our discussions, Gov. Hochul has expressed a desire to reset the relationship between our governments. No issue is of greater importance to the economies of Western New York and the Seneca Nation than a fair compact.”

While progress apparently has been made, Armstrong said “even more important work remains to be done. The Seneca Nation remains committed to negotiating honestly and directly with New York State on a compact that provides a fair and equitable economic and competitive environment for our gaming operations and the many people who depend on them.”

Bronson, too, said a new agreement is very important.

“I want there to be a compact,” Bronson said. “I want it to be fair to the Seneca, I want it to fair to the state and I want it to be fair to the localities that share in the revenues that come from the compact.

“All that being said, I don’t want a deal to be done on the backs of the people who live in the city of Rochester and Monroe County. We have to be very careful about the selection of a new location.”

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