An article in yesterday's Sullivan County Democrat reports that thh St. Regis Mohawk tribe (which was the tribe involved with Empire Resorts for a casino at the Monticello Raceway) has approached the new Dept. of the Interior about reversing the prior administration's stand against off reservation casinos. If you've followed casino developments here in the Catskills, you know that Dick Kempthorne, the Bush Adminsitration's Secretary of the Interior, was very much against off reservation casinos, and squelched the St. regis Mohawk application. (The Dept. of Interior includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and they have to tak tribal lands in trust to enable off-reservation casinos.)
After Kempthorne killed the Catskills casinos, I wrote that I thought a change to a Democratic administration could likely revive them. It seems the door is open to doing just that. Of course, the current economic environment, with gaming revenues down, casino companies showing losses and credit for new projects tight, a Sullivan County casino is unlikely in the near future. But the economy and credit picture are likely to brighten, and a revived casino push could take some time to work through a renewed approval process.
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