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Casino meeting raises hopes

By Steve Israel
Times Herald-Record, February 20, 2003

Albany - One tribe's odds for a Sullivan County casino may be improving. At least one county official left a meeting at Gov. George Pataki's office yesterday feeling pretty good about the chances for a
Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans casino in Bridgeville.
A Pataki spokeswoman had said the governor wasn't negotiating a gambling compact with the Wisconsin-based tribe with New York roots because it isn't a New York tribe.
No compact. No casino.
But a 90-minute session yesterday with Pataki's chief expert on indian affairs left County Attorney Ira Cohen with a different impression. "I think they're open," Cohen said. "More open than we thought." Cohen, who was joined by Legislator Greg Goldstein and Republican Majority Leader Rodney Gaebel, said the meeting with Pataki's counsel Greg Allen "went as well as it could have gone.''
Goldstein had said the county wants to make sure any tribe that wants a tax-free casino in Sullivan pays the county $15 million per year to offset the casino's impact on things like roads and school.
The St. Regis Mohawks, who want to build a casino at Kutsher's Sports Academy near Monticello, and the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans both agreed to pay the $15 million.
Allen, didn't get specific about the money, Cohen said, adding "but
they're very supportive of us."
County legislators will brief town and village officials this morning
about the meeting.