The last few weeks have been confusing for the Seneca Nation, Monroe County-area lawmakers and Western New York cities dependent on revenues from the Seneca Nation Gaming Compact.
A little background: The original gaming compact agreement was hammered out in 2002 under then-Gov. George Pataki. It required the state help establish three Seneca-owned casino facilities in Western New York in exchange for 25% revenue sharing to the three host cities — Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Salamanca. This compact expires in December.
Earlier this month, there was a general expectation that a deal linked to the compact that had passed in the state Senate would pass in the Assembly during its special session. For a variety of reasons, it did not.
"This is where it gets really complicated,” said Managing Partner of O’Donnell Solutions Jack O’Donnell, who was involved in the issue on behalf of an interested party in the hospitality sector. "The Senate didn’t even pass a deal. They passed what was an authorization to allow the executive to enter into a deal.”
It’s "doubly complicated” because the governor isn’t directly involved in the negotiations; her husband works for a Seneca Nation competitor. Instead, members of her administration are leading the negotiations.
"But the deal itself was secret, so the Senate didn’t know what they were voting on. They were voting, again, not on the specifics of the deal, but to authorize the executive to enter into it,” said O’Donnell.
A press release issued by the Rochester delegation indicates the parties are closer to an acceptable deal.
