A Las Vegas-style casino in the Catskills in New York is set to be built after 10 years of opposition and setbacks, after the state's Interior Department approved an environmental review of the planned casino.
The $600 million casino, planned by the St. Regis Mohawk Indian tribe, is predicted to bring thousands of jobs for the people of the region and also millions of dollars in revenue to the area, which was once flourishing and prosperous.
James E. Cason, the associate deputy secretary for Indian affairs at the Interior Department, said that the department has decided that the proposed casino would not cause a serious environmental impact. Cason also added that he was sending a notice to New York Governor George E. Pataki, who has long supported Indian casinos in the Catskills, asking him to concur.
The American political climate has turned against off-reservation casinos, with Senator John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, heading an attempt to restrict or even abolish them. If the Monticello casino is built, it will be the fourth such casino established since the National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed in 1988.
There are currently four tribal casinos on reservations in the state of New York. However, for the tribes and casino operators, the ultimate goal has always been the Catskills, which is closer to New York City than the casinos in Atlantic City or the Indian casinos in Connecticut.
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