The rounded building is the Casino, formerly Niagara Falls’ convention center. The tall building in the back is the Seneca hotel. This, along with an office buidling they purchased and parking ramp the built, is the extent of Seneca’s use of the 50 acres. Most of the land has not been developed.

This vacant building on Niagara St. is one of many vacant properties on the Niagara Falls border of the Seneca nation. Prior to Seneca, it was occupied.

The gambling dispute between New York State and the Seneca Nation is a bust for Niagara Falls and has put the city on life support over the $58 million it expected to receive since 2009 from gaming revenues paid to the state which have not materialized and are caught up in arbitration with no immediate resolution in sight.

City Council leaders say the Seneca Nation Tribal Council in recent months has twice scuttled plans for direct payment of slot machine revenues to the city and Mayor Paul Dyster has said the city is not powerless in the dispute But despite the clear agitation on the part of the elected leaders, the matter seems stalemated at this point and possibly caught up in the push by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to expand gambling across the state.        

According to Seneca Nation President Robert Odawi Porter, the blame rests on the state which he said has not responded to “outreach and diplomacy” to resolve the differences and the matter is now in the hands of arbitrators.

“The Seneca Nation understands the urgent appeal and the financial pressures that are weighing on Niagara Falls,” Porter said in a recent statement.  “It pains me to see Niagara Falls hurt by the state’s lack of action, but the matter of the state’s obligation under the compact to compensate the City is now, and has been, in the hands of the state.”

It was almost 10 years ago that some people hailed the opening of the Seneca Niagara Casino as a possible “silver bullet” that could save Niagara Falls from its downward slide and reverse the fortunes of the entire city by promoting development, tourism and excitement. 

But while the casino has probably generated some excitement from time to time, it is pretty much an island unto itself, with its own restaurants and 26-story hotel and $10 million in renovations in the pipeline, as it prepares to mark its 10th anniversary in December.  All this as Niagara Falls sinks deeper and deeper into the red, with key services slashed and layoffs apparently a possibility by the end of the year.

 The fight over the Seneca compact with the state is taking place as Gov. Cuomo continues his push to expand gambling across the state, with his lobbying group, Committee to Save New York, reportedly pulling in $2 million last December from the New York Gaming Association, a group of race track owners with video slot machine “racinos.”

Remember, the Seneca Nation maintains that under the 2002 compact with the state, it has exclusive gambling rights in the 14 counties in Western New York and has withheld payments from its three casinos (Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Salamanca) in protest over the video lottery terminals at Batavia Downs, Buffalo Raceway, and Finger Lakes Gaming and Raceway.

State leaders led by Cuomo are expected to move to legalize casino gambling across the state through a constitutional amendment that would have to be approved by the State Legislature this year and again next year and then by voters before it would be legal starting in 2014.

Meanwhile, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and Salamanca are caught in middle and are losing out on the slot revenues expected under the current compact with Niagara Falls the hardest hit at the $58 million mark, a jackpot the city needs to survive.

State Sen. George Maziarz believes that beginning in 2014, when the current compact with the state expires, money from the casinos should go directly to the localities, “not to the state first.”  But while that makes sense in the future, what about now?  And as Niagara Falls sinks, the casino is preparing for a big celebration to mark its 10th anniversary in December.

The Seneca Gaming Corporation is spending $10 million to do it right, starting with a makeover of the 400-seat Thunder Falls Buffet.  There will be a makeover of the Chairman’s Lounge for big spenders and a 108-foot wide by 20-foot-tall high-definition LED sign perched at the very top of the casino, a $1.9 million jewel.

Competitors moan that Seneca Niagara has a big edge with its tax-free status, and the “silver bullet” argument has fallen as flat as properties around the casino and throughout the city where development is nonexistent and neighborhoods in crumbling disrepair.

The casino as a catalyst for the rebirth of Niagara Falls is a dream that failed to come true.  What the future holds for gambling across the state is anybody’s guess, but while Seneca Niagara can be a refuge at times and a tourist attraction as well, it will take much more to turn around the city than a gambling casino that operates tax free, draws in big local dollars, and knocks its competition out of the box with its full array of in-house bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and entertainment.

The Seneca Nation can take credit for more than 3,700 jobs, and that’s not insignificant, and Seneca Niagara rolled out the welcome mat for Nik Wallenda as he prepared to make his historic walk across the falls.  But it appears that while the Seneca Niagara casino is a success, it has not delivered----as is the case elsewhere in the country when it comes to casinos---on its promise as seed for development.  

The casino sucks in big dollars from the local environment and its neighbors and can afford a big bash to mark its 10th anniversary in December.  But what about Niagara Falls?  Maybe if the casino were part of an overall strategy and not tax free, it would help.  But in its current status, and with the lack of slot revenue payments to the city, the casino is the only winner.