Big Victory for Turning Stone Casino
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By Gene Koprowski
The U.S. Department of the Interior upheld the legality of the Turning Stone casino's 14-year-old gambling compact with the state of New York, and the Oneida Indian Nation, according to Oneida spokesman Mark Emery. Chief Ray Halbritter scheduled a news brief talk about the decision.


"This should put to rest for all time any question about the validity of the gaming compact. The state challenges should be no more. The uncertainty and anxiety experienced by our 5,000 employees and their families are over," he said "The Nation can now move forward and continue helping its People overcome generations of poverty, continue being the engine for the Central New York economy and continue growing the business and creating even more job opportunities. We hope the region and its elected leaders will now start building on the economic potential Indian gaming has for everyone."

The Interior Department was reconsidering its 1993 approval of a compact that allowed the tribe to operate the casino and resort complex 35 miles east of Syracuse, New York. Nearly 90 percent of the casino's employees are not Indians.

A series of court decisions ruled that the casino was illegal, and the tribe and state failed to negotiate a new deal. The most recent decision -- a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the tribe does not have sovereignty over the land where the casino is located.

The tribe's lawyer, Peter Carmen, was planning to sue to keep Turning Stone open if the federal government revoked its approval of the casino. But that was not needed.
Turning Stone attracts nearly five millions visitors a year, and includes a casino, three golf courses, three luxury hotels, and a convention center and a showroom.

Turning Stone opened in 1993 after the Oneidas brokered a gambling compact with then-Gov. Mario Cuomo. That compact did not require the tribe to share any gambling revenues with the state; a state report found the Oneidas turned a profit of more than $115 million last year from its casino.

The state wants a 33 percent take of Turning Stone revenues in any new agreement, said Michael Smith, another tribal attorney.

The Oneidas have a payroll approaching $130 million, experts said.

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