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Buffalo casino fight heats up

BUFFALO, New York – As reported by the Buffalo News: "If critics once looked at a group of casino opponents as misguided do-gooders doomed to failure, that no doubt changed Jan. 12.

"That's when U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny issued a ruling on the anti-casino group's suit that puts the future of a Buffalo casino in question.

"The backers of two lawsuits against the Buffalo casino already have spent nearly a million dollars on their legal challenges, and they say they aren't going away.

"…Skretny recently ordered the National Indian Gaming Commission to reconsider its 2002 decision allowing the Seneca Nation to run a casino on land it purchased in downtown Buffalo. The judge said the commission must decide and then show how land the Senecas purchased near HSBC Arena is 'Indian land' before a casino can be approved.

"Seneca President Maurice A. John insists that the ruling is a temporary setback, and he has a powerful advocate on his side - the U.S. Justice Department.

"But [Dianne Bennett, a Buffalo attorney who is president of Citizens for a Better Buffalo,] considers the ruling a huge victory that makes her 'cautiously optimistic' that the Buffalo casino project is dead…"

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