Turning Stone Casino & Resort
Encyclopedia
Turning Stone Casino and Resort is a resort owned and operated by the Oneida Indian Nation
in Verona, New York
. The facility opened July 16, 1993 and offers golf amenities (on- and off-site golf courses, one of PGA quality, and an indoor golf dome), an RV park
, an arcade
, many restaurants, a confectionery
shop that sells many types of baked goods and desserts, table games (Poker
, Blackjack
, Caribbean Stud Poker
, Pai gow poker
, Let It Ride, Roulette
), and many types of digital slot machine
s. Until the Seneca Niagara Casino
opened, it was the only land-based casino in New York. The resort is a popular tourist destination in central New York State.
In 1997 the Oneidas paid for a water tower near the casino and gave it to the Town of Verona. The water tower has a capacity to hold 1,000,000 gallons of water. In 2005 the Nation consumed 600,000 gallons per day which was four times the amount guaranteed to them under an agreement with the Town of Verona. In about July 2005 the Town of Verona notified the Nation that after 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday August 2, 2005 that the water to the casino and resort would be shut off after it had used the 150,000 gallons of water that is guaranteed under the agreement. Just hours before this deadline the Oneida tribe began paying for a new water pump to be installed to provide the needed water capacity for the casino and resort.
The land upon which the Casino is located on was acquired from Ibrahim Batca and his family in two transactions in 1992 and 1993. Construction of an on-site hotel and a bingo hall began in 1994. The Bingo Hall's construction completed in 1995. Disagreements over the hotel plans delayed its construction for a year. The hotel's original design plans would keep the hotel and casino separate, connected by only an outdoor walkway. Resultant of the delay, the hotel plans were re-designed to combine the hotel and casino into one structure. This new design allowed the Oneida Indian Nation to offer more services, including a pool, a spa, and a gym. Additionally, the combination created a larger and more formal lobby that allowed the hotel and casino to be one structure.
In 2002, construction of a gaming expansion and showroom were completed to provide the only Ticketmaster
approved venue in the area. The popularity of the casino gave both the funding and the need for a second and third hotel to be built on the premises. Construction of the new hotel finished in late 2004. One of the hotels is the tallest structure between Syracuse
and Albany
to serve the common guest; the other hotel is a luxury resort.
's Boston vs. New York Poker Challenge for two seasons.
The casino also hosts several high class shows throughout the year, featuring many well-known musicians (KISS
, Kelly Clarkson
, Carrie Underwood
, Fergie, Mariah Carey
, Gwen Stefani
, No Doubt
, Jordin Sparks
, Alicia Keys
& Wayne Newton
), comedians (Bill Cosby
) & other entertainment groups (Purrrfect Angels).
The resort's Atunyote Golf Club, located on tribal land, hosts the Turning Stone Resort Championship
, a PGA Tour
event that was part of the season-ending Fall Series
from 2007 through 2009, but will move to August for 2010 and beyond.
State, Oneida County, Madison County, Vernon town government, and a citizens' group called Upstate Citizens for Equality
(UCE).
(UCE) helped to challenge the compact's validity on grounds that the state legislature failed to approve the compact pursuant to the New York State Constitution. In Peterman v. Pataki, the compact was declared unconstitutional because the legislature failed to approve the compact, despite Cuomo's representation and belief that legislative approval was unnecessary. The Oneida Indian Nation appealed this decision up to the Court of Appeals
to no avail. The U.S. Supreme Court denied cert.
The high court typically refrains from intervening in suits that pertain largely to state matters even though it would have jurisdiction to hear the case. A denial of cert. is not a judgment on the case's merits and is not to be used as legal precedent. The lower court's decision stands until overturned. Further, the Rules of Decision Act
, as interpreted by Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins
, requires federal courts to apply state law where there is no conflict between state and federal law. Where there is a conflict of laws, federal law preempts state law under the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
(IGRA) incorporates state laws into federal law, specifically provides, "for purposes of Federal law, all State laws pertaining to the licensing, regulation, or prohibition of gambling, including but not limited to criminal sanctions applicable thereto, shall apply in Indian country in the same manner and to the same extent as such laws apply elsewhere in the State." The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
has held that approval of a Compact by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior "did not and, under IGRA, could not, alter its validity or non-validity under state law." To date, the Second Circuit has not adopted this view in regards to the validity of a compact, however the Second Circuit has adopted the part of the Tenth Circuit's decision regarding an Indian Tribe's waiver of sovereign immunity. But, to date, the Second Circuit has not held that the OIN waived its sovereign immunity.
The Oneida Indian Nation then sought relief with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). After many failed attempts to negotiate a settlement by an April 2007 deadline, the Department of the Interior launched its own investigation into the compact's validity. On June 13, 2007 when the Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior declined to reconsider its approval of the compact, Mr. Cason stated, "the 1993 Compact continues to be in effect for purposes of the IGRA". In UCE's lawsuit against the DOI, UCE has challenged the DOI's decision regarding the compact's validity in addition to its challenge of the DOI's decision to take land into trust for the OIN. Now it is the United States Department of the Interior's position that the June 13, 2007 was not the end of it reconsidering the validity of the tribal-state compact, but merely a suspension of its reconsideration.
On August 7, 2007, in an action between New York State and the Oneida Indian Nation, U.S. District Court Judge Kahn upheld Magistrate Treece's order directing the depositions of high ranking officials and denying the State's motions. The decision also dismissed the Amended Complaint pleading, which attacked the Board's authority to amend the Compact due to Peterman and Seneca, on subject matter jurisdiction grounds. The fact that the amended complaint was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds deprived the court of the opportunity to address, directly, the compact's validity at the federal level. If the compact was invalid, then the Oneida Indian Nation would be violating federal law (operating a gaming facility without a tribal-state compact). Such a violation of federal law would have provided the requisite subject matter jurisdiction (federal question) to address the amended complaint. Even though the State sought to enjoin the Nation from operating Instant Multi Game ("IMG") based on its failure to adhere to the procedures in the Compact, the state has since dropped this case.
While their applications were pending before the Liquor Authority, the Resort did not allow any kind of alcohol on the premises as part of their application. Since the Liquor Authority's denial on the applications, the Oneida Indian Nation has lifted the alcohol ban.
Smoking is allowed around the resort although they have recently expanded non-smoking sections in all areas.
Oneida Indian Nation
The Oneida Indian Nation is the Oneida tribe that resides in New York and currently owns a number of businesses and tribal land in Verona, NY, Oneida, NY, and Canastota, NY.- Businesses :...
in Verona, New York
Verona, New York
Verona is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 6,425 at the 2000 census. The source of the town name is unknown, though it's possibly named after Verona, Italy....
. The facility opened July 16, 1993 and offers golf amenities (on- and off-site golf courses, one of PGA quality, and an indoor golf dome), an RV park
RV park
A recreational vehicle park or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in alloted spaces known as "pitches"...
, an arcade
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
, many restaurants, a confectionery
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...
shop that sells many types of baked goods and desserts, table games (Poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
, Blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
, Caribbean Stud Poker
Caribbean stud poker
Caribbean Stud poker is a casino table game with rules similar to five-card stud poker. However, unlike standard poker games, Caribbean stud is played against the house rather than against other players...
, Pai gow poker
Pai gow poker
Pai Gow poker is an Americanized version of Pai Gow . The games of Pai Gow poker and Super Pan-9 were created by Sam Torosian and Fred Wolf.The game is played with a standard 52-card deck, plus a single joker...
, Let It Ride, Roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
), and many types of digital slot machine
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
s. Until the Seneca Niagara Casino
Seneca Niagara Casino
Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel is a casino located in Niagara Falls, New York and was built to compete with Casino Niagara and Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario...
opened, it was the only land-based casino in New York. The resort is a popular tourist destination in central New York State.
Construction and expansion
Since the casino's inception, its progress has been opposed by some. As a fall-back plan, the Oneida Indian Nation designed the casino so that it could easily convert into a small shopping mall, if the Oneidas were unable to develop their casino plans.In 1997 the Oneidas paid for a water tower near the casino and gave it to the Town of Verona. The water tower has a capacity to hold 1,000,000 gallons of water. In 2005 the Nation consumed 600,000 gallons per day which was four times the amount guaranteed to them under an agreement with the Town of Verona. In about July 2005 the Town of Verona notified the Nation that after 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday August 2, 2005 that the water to the casino and resort would be shut off after it had used the 150,000 gallons of water that is guaranteed under the agreement. Just hours before this deadline the Oneida tribe began paying for a new water pump to be installed to provide the needed water capacity for the casino and resort.
The land upon which the Casino is located on was acquired from Ibrahim Batca and his family in two transactions in 1992 and 1993. Construction of an on-site hotel and a bingo hall began in 1994. The Bingo Hall's construction completed in 1995. Disagreements over the hotel plans delayed its construction for a year. The hotel's original design plans would keep the hotel and casino separate, connected by only an outdoor walkway. Resultant of the delay, the hotel plans were re-designed to combine the hotel and casino into one structure. This new design allowed the Oneida Indian Nation to offer more services, including a pool, a spa, and a gym. Additionally, the combination created a larger and more formal lobby that allowed the hotel and casino to be one structure.
In 2002, construction of a gaming expansion and showroom were completed to provide the only Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an independent American ticket sales and distribution company based in West Hollywood, California, USA, with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010 it merged with Live Nation to become Live Nation Entertainment...
approved venue in the area. The popularity of the casino gave both the funding and the need for a second and third hotel to be built on the premises. Construction of the new hotel finished in late 2004. One of the hotels is the tallest structure between Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
and Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
to serve the common guest; the other hotel is a luxury resort.
Entertainment
The Turning Stone Casino and Resort hosted NESN and YES NetworkYES Network
The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is a New York City-based, regional cable television channel; it broadcasts a variety of sports events, with an emphasis on New York Yankees baseball games, and New Jersey Nets basketball games. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002...
's Boston vs. New York Poker Challenge for two seasons.
The casino also hosts several high class shows throughout the year, featuring many well-known musicians (KISS
Kiss
A kiss is the act of pressing one's lips against the lips or other body parts of another person or of an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good...
, Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
, Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...
, Fergie, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...
, No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
, Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...
, Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
& Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...
), comedians (Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
) & other entertainment groups (Purrrfect Angels).
The resort's Atunyote Golf Club, located on tribal land, hosts the Turning Stone Resort Championship
Turning Stone Resort Championship
The Turning Stone Resort Championship was a PGA Tour professional golf tournament. It was played for the first time from September 20 to 23, 2007. It is hosted by the Atunyote Golf Club at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, in Verona in Upstate New York...
, a PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
event that was part of the season-ending Fall Series
PGA Tour Fall Series
The PGA Tour Fall Series is a series of events on the PGA Tour that covers the end of the calendar year.This series was created in 2007 as part of the reorganization of the entire tour schedule. The new structure includes a regular season and the FedEx Cup playoffs, which will determine the season...
from 2007 through 2009, but will move to August for 2010 and beyond.
Criticism
The Casino's success has met opposition from New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
State, Oneida County, Madison County, Vernon town government, and a citizens' group called Upstate Citizens for Equality
Upstate Citizens for Equality
The Upstate Citizens for Equality is a group based in Verona, New York that opposes the Indian Land Claim and what they see as flawed Federal Indian Policy. UCE currently has three chapters with a combined membership of around 10,000.-Legal actions:...
(UCE).
The tribal-state gaming compact
The original gaming compact was executed in 1993 between then Governor of New York State Mario Cuomo and the Oneida Indian Nation. In opposition to the casino's operation , the Upstate Citizens for EqualityUpstate Citizens for Equality
The Upstate Citizens for Equality is a group based in Verona, New York that opposes the Indian Land Claim and what they see as flawed Federal Indian Policy. UCE currently has three chapters with a combined membership of around 10,000.-Legal actions:...
(UCE) helped to challenge the compact's validity on grounds that the state legislature failed to approve the compact pursuant to the New York State Constitution. In Peterman v. Pataki, the compact was declared unconstitutional because the legislature failed to approve the compact, despite Cuomo's representation and belief that legislative approval was unnecessary. The Oneida Indian Nation appealed this decision up to the Court of Appeals
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
to no avail. The U.S. Supreme Court denied cert.
Certiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
The high court typically refrains from intervening in suits that pertain largely to state matters even though it would have jurisdiction to hear the case. A denial of cert. is not a judgment on the case's merits and is not to be used as legal precedent. The lower court's decision stands until overturned. Further, the Rules of Decision Act
Rules of Decision Act
The Rules of Decision Act requires that federal courts apply state law in their decisions arising out of diversity jurisdiction, except when in conflict with federal law.This act came from Section 34 of the Judiciary Act of 1789...
, as interpreted by Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins
Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins
Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held that federal courts did not have the judicial power to create general federal common law when hearing state law claims under diversity jurisdiction...
, requires federal courts to apply state law where there is no conflict between state and federal law. Where there is a conflict of laws, federal law preempts state law under the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is a 1988 United States federal law that establishes the jurisdictional framework that governs Indian gaming. There was no federal gaming structure before this act...
(IGRA) incorporates state laws into federal law, specifically provides, "for purposes of Federal law, all State laws pertaining to the licensing, regulation, or prohibition of gambling, including but not limited to criminal sanctions applicable thereto, shall apply in Indian country in the same manner and to the same extent as such laws apply elsewhere in the State." The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Colorado* District of Kansas...
has held that approval of a Compact by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior "did not and, under IGRA, could not, alter its validity or non-validity under state law." To date, the Second Circuit has not adopted this view in regards to the validity of a compact, however the Second Circuit has adopted the part of the Tenth Circuit's decision regarding an Indian Tribe's waiver of sovereign immunity. But, to date, the Second Circuit has not held that the OIN waived its sovereign immunity.
The Oneida Indian Nation then sought relief with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). After many failed attempts to negotiate a settlement by an April 2007 deadline, the Department of the Interior launched its own investigation into the compact's validity. On June 13, 2007 when the Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior declined to reconsider its approval of the compact, Mr. Cason stated, "the 1993 Compact continues to be in effect for purposes of the IGRA". In UCE's lawsuit against the DOI, UCE has challenged the DOI's decision regarding the compact's validity in addition to its challenge of the DOI's decision to take land into trust for the OIN. Now it is the United States Department of the Interior's position that the June 13, 2007 was not the end of it reconsidering the validity of the tribal-state compact, but merely a suspension of its reconsideration.
On August 7, 2007, in an action between New York State and the Oneida Indian Nation, U.S. District Court Judge Kahn upheld Magistrate Treece's order directing the depositions of high ranking officials and denying the State's motions. The decision also dismissed the Amended Complaint pleading, which attacked the Board's authority to amend the Compact due to Peterman and Seneca, on subject matter jurisdiction grounds. The fact that the amended complaint was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds deprived the court of the opportunity to address, directly, the compact's validity at the federal level. If the compact was invalid, then the Oneida Indian Nation would be violating federal law (operating a gaming facility without a tribal-state compact). Such a violation of federal law would have provided the requisite subject matter jurisdiction (federal question) to address the amended complaint. Even though the State sought to enjoin the Nation from operating Instant Multi Game ("IMG") based on its failure to adhere to the procedures in the Compact, the state has since dropped this case.
Scope of the gaming compact
Since the compact's original approval, the Department of the Interior specifically stated "compact does not specifically refer to the site where ... the Nation has built a major new facility in anticipation of being able to conduct gaming in the future. Since the compact tracks the [IGRA's definition of 'Indian lands'], we ... take no position with regard to whether this new facility is on 'Indian land' as that term is used in IGRA". This does not have any bearing on the actual compact's validity, but it does deal with another issue involving the compact: the casino's authority to operate at its present location.Status of ancient tribal lands re-acquired on the open market
State law forbids Class III gaming on lands within New York State. For some time, it was believed that the land the Oneida Indian Nation once owned, sold, and since re-acquired automatically returned to its status as Indian Territory. In City of Sherrill v Oneida Indian Nation, Justice Ginsburg authored the majority opinion that determined the land on which the casino is on was part of the Oneidas' original tribal lands. The Court continued that although the land may be part of an ancient reservation land grant, over 200 years was too long to be non-Indian territory for the Oneida Indian Nation to re-establish its immunity over those lands. Since the Sherrill decision, the OIN has applied to the U.S. Department of the Interior to have this land taken into trust.Alcohol and smoking
On Wednesday, October 3, 2007 the New York State Liquor Authority denied the Oneida Nation’s applications to serve alcohol at their golf courses. After delaying a decision for a month, the liquor board told the Oneida Indian Nation it cannot issue permits while unsettled sovereignty issues between the tribe and the state are being litigated in court. "The Liquor Authority said the applications were disapproved without prejudice, and the Nation can reapply for the licenses after the reservation issue is solved."While their applications were pending before the Liquor Authority, the Resort did not allow any kind of alcohol on the premises as part of their application. Since the Liquor Authority's denial on the applications, the Oneida Indian Nation has lifted the alcohol ban.
Smoking is allowed around the resort although they have recently expanded non-smoking sections in all areas.