Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Submitted by Charles Kader

(MASSENA) – A proposal to partner a new casino in St. Lawrence County with the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort has been developed by a Massena resident, Thomas Gramuglia.

Gramuglia, a property-owner in St. Lawrence County, hopes the plan has the potential to get Akwesasne residents and taxpayers in St. Lawrence and Franklin counties to work together in a mutually-beneficial agreement.

The plan would see the former General Motors plant site located near the Massena Port of Entry being re-utilized in a Class 3 gaming property.

Referencing the same subject, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe recently issued a public statement on additional gaming development within a state-negotiated “gaming exclusivity” zone in the North Country and surrounding regions (which includes Franklin, St. Lawrence, Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and Warren Counties.)

According to the tribal media release, “The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe monitors developments in gaming within the state, particularly within our zone of exclusivity.”

Additionally, “The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe would oppose any development that may jeopardize our established gaming operations. As for development in Jefferson or St. Lawrence Counties, we would of course be concerned with substantiated discussion of development however, to our knowledge these proposals do not yet have political support.”

The new casino proposed by Gramuglia would provide direct benefits to Akwesasne residents in the form of per-capita payments. Agriculture and educational benefits would be provided to taxpayers living within the two counties.

The per-capita plan is believed to be the first in the United States that would provide per-capita benefits to a Native territory without the involvement of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to oversee the program benefits. Overall, 5% of the gaming revenue would be dedicated to per-capita payments.

The ultimate goal of the project is to reduce the amount of public assistance being paid out to county residents. The 2014 budget for St. Lawrence County public assistance is approximately $65 million, Gramuglia noted. The new casino would seek to reduce the public assistance rates by 10% per year, and up to 50% overall.

St. Lawrence and Franklin counties would also each receive 5% each from the revenue-sharing plan. 2.5% to each county would go to provide 50% educational benefits. Another 2.5% would be to agriculture-supporting projects to spur livestock, farming and dairy projects in each county.

Gramuglia indicates that time is of the essence to bring this project forward. One avenue for dialogue would be for public meetings to be held in each of the affected communities, including Akwesasne.

Unnamed sources in Canada indicate that gaming projects are actively being proposed for the greater Cornwall, Ontario area, according to Gramuglia. The re-use of the former G.M. site for gaming would likely stop that development from proceeding.

The plan does not specify who would operate the new casino. Gramuglia stated that gaming company partners could be selected from the list of state gaming site proposal holders who are currently on file with New York State. These companies have already been evaluated for past performance as well as current financial stability. New York State will select from these potential gaming partners in the fall as it awards a total of four casino licenses from a pool of sixteen gaming partnerships that submitted detailed plans for consideration by the deadline earlier this year.

A racetrack casino plan (involving racehorses and Class 2 electronic bingo devices, or VLTs) has also been proposed for the Thousand Island region near Alexandria Bay, in Jefferson County. New York State Gaming Commission officials indicated that the eighth “harness” license will be awarded later in the fall of 2014, and such Class 2 gaming licenses are not subject to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal gaming exclusivity zone agreement.