Seneca Nation's casino in Buffalo under scrutiny

Thursday, April 13, 2006  

The Seneca Nation is facing lawsuits and questions about its off-reservation casino in Buffalo, New York.

Two lawsuits have been filed to stop construction of the casino. Erie County said it will join the fight out of concern the casino will hurt the region's economy.

The economy is a major concern to Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. He said he is troubled by the tribe's recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that indicated most of the customers will come from the local community.

The tribe signed a compact to open three casinos in the state. Two of them are located off-reservation on land taken into trust pursuant to a land claim settlement. The Bureau of Indian Affairs says the Seneca Nation is the only tribe to have used the land claim exception in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

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Doubts grow about benefits of casino (AP 4/13)