The Seneca Nation of New York hopes the new administration of president-elect Barack Obama will be receptive to an off-reservation casino.
The tribe hopes to build a casino in the Catskills. Bush administration policy makes approval virtually impossible. "The Nation is acquiring the land in anticipation of a change in national policy by the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama regarding gaming on newly acquired territories. The Bush Administration established a firm policy against so-called 'off-territory' gaming two years ago and all such proposals nationally have been stymied ever since," the tribe said in a press release. The tribe operates two off-reservation casinos but the land for those facilities was acquired in connection with a land claim settlement. The tribe won't seek the same exception for the Catskills project. Get the Story: