Senecas unveil new Salamanca casino

Upscale complexrepresents a beton future of nation

By Mark Sommer
Updated: 03/31/07 9:30 AM

 SALAMANCA — The Seneca Nation of Indians opened a flashy new casino and hotel complex Friday, unveiling a $160 million facility tucked away in a struggling area in the Allegany Mountains.

With a towering, 11-story, 212- room hotel wrapped in blue-tinted glass, the spacious, 68,000-squarefoot casino replaces its former home of nearly three years in a prefabricated building.

The completed Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel now joins the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, with Buffalo the planned next stop.

Seneca officials predicted new wealth and opportunity for those living on the reservation and elsewhere in the Southern Tier, noting the casino employs more than 1,200 people.

“We will continue to share the [gambling] revenue with the people. We have done it for two years, and we are on the third year. It’s increased everyone’s economy individually,” said Maurice A. John, the Seneca Nation’s president.

“It’s an economic engine, and people will benefit from it,” said Todd Gates of the Seneca Tribal Council.

The casino, which opened in December, is about half the size of the Niagara Falls complex, which used the same Connecticut-based architectural firm of Jeter, Cook & Jepson. The public indoor spaces incorporate a mix of earth tones, stone, natural wood and imported marble that, with the colorful lighting, resembles an upscale mall.

The complex includes three restaurants, a full-service salon, spa and indoor swimming pool.

“We wanted to give it as much of a natural feel and connection to nature in keeping with Seneca heritage and culture as we could,” Seneca spokesman Phil Pantano said.

The planned Buffalo casino, which is currently blocked in the courts, would be similar in size to Seneca Allegany, but have fewer restaurants, Pantano said.

A temporary space for the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino, which the state compact requires to be in operation by December, would be used for about two years until the permanent casino is completed, Pantano said.

On Friday, gamblers pulling the handles on some of the 2,235 slot machines, to go with 40 table games, said they are excited about the new Salamanca facility.

“I think it’s pretty awesome. The casino looks great, and I think it’ll draw a lot of neat attractions to the area,” said Cory Craig, who recently moved away from the area but returned to view the new facility.

Judy Richards, who drove 2½ hours from Painesville, Ohio, said, “The decor is beautiful, and you have no trouble finding machines to play on. The only thing we don’t like is the drive here.”

Richards, who carried along her oxygen tank in the casino, where smoking is permitted, said she will be returning soon.

“We got comp rooms,” she said.

Sue Putt, a nearby resident and program coordinator for AmeriCorps, said Lady Luck was on her side.

“I did good today. I was on the quarter machine, and won $275,” she said.

Like other casinos, big-name concert acts have been booked starting with country musician Travis Tritt and comedian and game show host Howie Mandel.

How much money filters down to Cattaraugus County residents remains to be seen. The promises of new hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and noncasino jobs have not materialized in Niagara Falls, as seen by the absence of development and job growth around the casino complex.

And several studies have cast doubt on casinos being an economic engine, while being shown to contribute to a host of social ills that include gambling addiction.

John said casino earnings have helped improve health services and allowed the nation to be less dependent on state and federal funds. The tribal leader downplayed the need to use the funds to attack high poverty levels in the Seneca Nation.

“Poverty is a state of mind,” John said.

The Seneca leader hailed Friday’s announcement that Bass Pro will be opening a store less than a mile from the planned Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino.

“We’re really happy to hear that. There’s room for everyone, and I’m sure the customer base will overlap,” John said.

msommer@buffnews.com