Some Gates residents seem open to the idea of having a casino in their town.
During last night’s Town Board meeting, five people spoke about a Seneca casino in Gates, but only a couple of them offered any direct opposition. The others had questions about traffic, jobs, benefits to the town, and the process the Senecas would need to follow.
But the questions all assume that the tribe is interested in Gates. Town officials have invited the Senecas to put a casino in the Rochester Tech Park along Elmgrove Road. But Supervisor Mark Assini says he hasn’t heard from the Senecas in more than year. Assini says the casino would bring jobs and payments that could reduce town taxes.ย
“I want to make it clear,” Assini said. “There’s nothing on the table.”
The No More Casinos Coalition, a group opposed to a Seneca casino in Monroe County, tried to rally Gates residents to show up at last night’s meeting to speak against putting a casino in their community. The coalition is funded by the owners of Batavia Downs and Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack.
The response in Gates was completely different than in Henrietta, where residents packed Town Board meetings and spoke vehemently against a proposed Seneca casino. But the Seneca Gaming Corp, an affiliate of the Seneca Nation of Indians, had purchased 32 acres of land in Henrietta, and had presented the town with a proposal.
The Henrietta Town Board ultimately passed a resolution opposing the proposal. The town doesn’t have any approval authority regarding a Seneca casino; that responsibility falls with the state and federal governments. But input from the town and the county are supposed to be considered during those processes.
The No More Casinos Coalition is also trying to rally casino opponents to speak at tonight’s County Legislature meeting. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and will be held at the County Office Building, 39 West Main Street.
This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2014.
Jack Moore called it the “No More Casinos Competition Coalition”. I credit the Henrietta Town Supervisor for telling it like it is.
The Seneca Nation already has three casinos in the Buffalo area. Couldn’t they just close one? The “complicated” compacts wouldn’t have to be reopened in order to build a casino in Monroe County. And what would the coalition say? Closing one casino and opening another isn’t really “more”. I bet the coalition would change it’s name before endorsing a casino in the Rochester area. They know where their customers live and how much hurt that a Rochester area casino would cause.
Land has already been purchased in Henrietta for a casino. It seems like a good location. Gates seems like a terrible location.
I am in complete agreement with the No New Casinos Coalition. But, how realistic is it considering how powerless the town governments are in this particular situation?
Regionally, we need to be good neighbors to the Senecas also. This means supporting them in allowing a casino wherever they want one. We always have the choice of not going. A little personal responsibility can go very long way.