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Tribal Court Issues $1.8 Billion Judgment Against Park Place22 March 2001NEW YORK—March 22, 2001 –As reported by the New York Times: "Park Place Entertainment Corp.'s plan to build a billion-dollar casino in the Catskills ran into yet another problem this week when a St. Regis Mohawk tribal court issued a $1.8 billion judgment against the company. "The dissident Mohawks who filed the suit declared victory on Wednesday against the largest gambling company in the world, but Las Vegas-based Park Place simply dismissed the ruling's importance. "…The tribal court in Hogansburg, N.Y., issued the default judgment on Tuesday, ordering Park Place to pay damages to the Mohawks for inducing three chiefs to break a longstanding contract with another casino developer and derailing the tribe's chances of opening a casino in Sullivan County. Despite promising last April to build a casino within four months, the court said, Park Place has yet to file an application for the gambling hall there. "But the tribal court and its ruling are the subject of a longstanding political battle at the Mohawk's St. Regis reservation on the Canadian border. The current chiefs, who are allied with Park Place, have ordered the court to disband, which it has refused to do. "…Sullivan County politicians who had hoped that a casino would improve the economy have adopted a glum wait-and-see attitude. For nearly a year, Park Place has issued statements that it would file an application for a Mohawk casino in Sullivan County. But each date has passed without any action. "…In their suit, the dissident Mohawks said Park Place had duped three Mohawk chiefs into signing a secret agreement on April 14 granting Park Place the right to develop Mohawk casinos throughout New York in exchange for a $3 million loan. "Gov. George Pataki, who had favored an Indian casino in the Catskills, suspended review of the project until the dispute could be resolved…" |