Excerpted from the New York Times
Casino Plan for Catskills Moves Closer to Reality With Interior Department’s Approval
By CHARLES V. BAGLI
Published: December 15, 2006
After more than 10 years of delays, tribal recriminations and opposition from Atlantic City gambling interests, the effort to build a Las Vegas-style casino in the Catskills took a major step forward yesterday.
The Interior Department approved an environmental review of the St. Regis Mohawk Indian tribe’s $600 million project. Proponents say the casino will bring thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in revenue to a once thriving resort area known as the Borscht Belt.
James E. Cason, the associate deputy secretary for Indian affairs at the Interior Department, said yesterday that he was notifying the Mohawks, whose reservation straddles the Canadian border, that the agency determined that the proposed casino on 30 acres next to the racetrack outside Monticello in Sullivan County would not have a significant environmental impact.
The longtime harness racing track, owned by Empire Resorts, which would build the new casino, is currently the site of Monticello Gaming and Raceway. It now features more than 1,500 electronic gambling machines, including video poker, where patrons can wager from pennies to $10. A similar setup with the electronic machines is in place just north of New York City at Yonkers Raceway, which is about 85 miles southeast of Monticello.
“It’s a step in what’s been a long process for Monticello,” Mr. Cason said of the casino, which would include table games like blackjack, roulette, craps and the more traditional slot machines as well as the current electronic ones.
Mr. Cason, who said “there is not an environmental impediment” to the new casino in Monticello, added that he was sending a notice to Gov. George E. Pataki, who has long supported Indian casinos in the Catskills, asking him to concur...........
Phil, put $10 on double zero for me. That should take care of my tire bill.
DZ