At least three Common Council Members declared their support to the activists against gambling who want to annul an agreement which establishes the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino of the Seneca Gaming Corp. Two other members are also believed to be open to the possibility of such a legal challenge. The issue originated when a study by one of Niagara’s University’s experts was presented by Citizens for a Better Buffalo. The study came as a proof of earlier concerns about the expansion of the casino, which it says would create a condition like a money sucking vacuum in Buffalo which is already plagued by a very bad condition of poverty. City leaders were also on the end of ridicule by the group after they went easy on Seneca when it failed to hold up to the terms of its 2006 deal with the city officials.
Attorney Dianne Bennett said that the Seneca group wasn’t acting like a fair business group in their deals and transactions with the city, citing the permanent casino situated at the Cobblerstone District site which he said was against the people’s interest and wasn’t legitimate, and that efforts to repeal the ruling from federal courts which approved of the construction were underway. At last, the City Hall also seems to be paying heed to the idea. Darius G. Pridgen, Council Member of Ellicott, said to the press after a meeting with the group leaders that they made some fairly compelling arguments and that the city must consider a possibility of having the agreement canceled. He said that the job would have been done by now if this had been some other developer.
According to the legal advisors of the council, it would require a detailed process including arbitration and possibly also court action to rescind the agreement. These developments in the city council came as a result of a report from Steve H. Siegel who is a professor at the Niagara University. The reports warned the city officials against the expansion of the Seneca casino even by a smaller extent than had originally been planned. His arguments said that a 15% price advantage is enjoyed by the Seneca group as compared to its non-Indian competitors.
