Thanks to the Poker News Bulletin, I learned that a Long Island, New York indian tribe, the Shinecock, has been granted official recognition by the Unites States federal government. Can live poker in the NYC area be far behind?
Over the last year, we’ve seen the expansion of live poker in the NE like never before. Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Delaware, to name a few, have recently legalized live poker and even New Jersey has considered legalizing online poker. But for NYC players, one assumption has been generally regarded as true: the NYC-area was not going to see live poker any time soon. The recent decision by the federal government doesn’t necessarily change things, but it may lead to some huge changes on the horizon.
The Shinecock Indians are located near the eastern end of Long Island, New York, a less-than-ideal place for a casino, seeing as how it is a good two hours from NYC and there is not the infrastructure to handle a large influx of people. Living on Long Island is a lot like living at the end of an alley. There is only one way in and one way out. Now consider the increase in traffic that a casino would bring and the problems are obvious.
That doesn’t even account for the power and money that considers eastern Long Island and the Hamptomns to be their personal playground. You best believe Daddy Warbucks does not want a casino to attract the large, unwashed masses to his summer paradise.
The Shinecock’s new status will allow them to build a small gambling facility on their land, but the real excitement surrounds the possibility that the Shinecocks will be able to build a casino elsewhere. Elsewhere, as in closer to NYC.
The article suggests that the remote location may still be in Suffolk County, but Suffolk County is a long county, and its nearest point is probably only an hour train ride from Manhattan.
A long while ago, I heard a rumor that seems to be more likely true now that this news has broke. The rumor was that some Suffolk County Native Americans planned to push for a casino in Suffolk County, merely as a way to get the local rich people to fight for the Indian’s rights to build somewhere else. In other words, “Hey Daddy Warbucks. I’m planning on building a casino across the street…unless you want to throw some money and power towards our cause for a Queens, NY casino.” It’s actually a pretty sound gimmick, and if the Shinecocks can pull it off, there are some great locations in the NYC area fit for a casino.
Of course, a lot of this is months if not years away. Still, with the trends in the NE, it’d be of little surprise if NYC eventually gets its own poker haven in the next four years.
Until next time, make mine poker!
June 15th, 2010 - 6:27 pm
You just have to wonder what the tribe’s specialty is.
June 16th, 2010 - 10:26 am
Governor’s Island! Governor’s Island!
June 16th, 2010 - 10:51 am
Isn’t there already a casino in Yonkers? Probably wouldn’t be to tough to jam a few card tables in there… though I like Dawn’s suggestion better…. hey, how about the Smith st indians? Aren’t they building a casino across the street from the jail?
June 17th, 2010 - 10:26 am
Thanks for the props/link. I’ve often tought that Yonkers would be the ideal location. It already is bordered by major highways connecting the NE corridor, has much of the infrastructure. And has the ponies — I cannot even think of another casino outside Florida that has both full table games and horses. Giddy up. That said, I’ve never read anything about Yonkers (think it’s called Empire City) getting poker/table games. Probably has to do with it not being Indian land, so the state would have to approve it. And NY’s prohibition on gambling is found in the actual NY Constitution, not just statute (as in most states). So it’s a huge hurdle to clear to get it changed.