Senecas: Buffalo casino to remain open during legal fight

NIAGARA FALLS - The Seneca Indian Nation's temporary Buffalo casino will remain open and construction of a permanent facility will continue while a court battle over whether they are legal wages on. Seneca President Maurice John said Wednesday that a federal court determination that casino gambling is not allowed on the Buffalo site did not contain an order to close the temporary casino, so for now, it's business as usual.

“The litigation is not final. All district court decisions are subject to appeal,” John said in the lobby of the western New York tribe's successful Niagara Falls casino-hotel complex. He said the Senecas have enlisted U.S. Supreme Court scholar Laurence Tribe to help guide them through legal efforts to open a similar complex in Buffalo's Cobblestone District.

In a 127-page ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Skretny vacated a decision by the National Indian Gaming Commission to allow gambling on the off-reservation site.