Just past the HSBC Arena in downtown Buffalo stands the now defunct DL&W rail terminal. The building is an architectural gem, harkening back the golden era of turn-of-the-century Buffalo. Its imposing façade—covered in grease-darkened glass and weather-beaten brick—houses what is now a storage facility for cars on Buffalo’s metro line. The building sits silently on the waterfront as one of many testaments to the crumbled economy of this once mighty city.
But this image of urban decay may be slated for change. Soon, the ringing of bells, flashing of lights, and chatter of people could once again fill the building. The historic Cobblestone District may once again attract people in droves—for more than just cheap parking during Buffalo Sabres games.
As early as December, the Seneca Nation of Indians may begin construction at the site for what would be Buffalo’s first casino. Community reactions to this proposed plan have been varied.
Some claim that a casino will revitalize the all-but-dead economy of Buffalo and return the city to a place of prominence in the American consciousness. Others fear that a casino will do nothing but drain money from already hurting local pockets, and that it will do more harm to the fabric of our society than any economic good it can bring.
Either way, what remains unclear is whether the casino would bring about a fiscal boon for the city or the final nail in the coffin that is decrepit downtown Buffalo’s fate.
Betting on Buffalo’s Future
The proposed casino—originally intended to be built near the Buffalo International Airport in Cheektowaga—has been a hypothetical addition to Erie County since August 2002, when the Seneca Nation received approval from state legislators and Governor George Pataki to build and operate three Class III gaming facilities in Western New York.
The first two facilities are already up and running. Buffalo’s would be the third and final under the deal, and would hold 120,000 square feet of gaming, in addition to eateries and bars.
“A casino will create jobs,” said Eva Hasset, chief of staff for current Buffalo mayor Anthony Masiello. Masiello’s administration believes that a casino will be key in reviving the struggling Buffalo economy and has been publicly pushing the idea of building one in Erie County for several years now. “A casino in the waterfront area will create synergy with the HSBC Arena, the [proposed] Bass Pro store, and other waterfront developments, becoming another piece of the a new downtown entertainment district,” she said.
“We think there are tremendous benefits to Buffalo from the casino industry,” said Philip Pantano, spokesman for the Seneca Gaming Corporation. “There aren’t many companies that have invested $500 million into the Buffalo region.” According to Pantano, the Seneca Corporation has spent $61 million in the last year with local vendors for its two other facilities—the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, New York and the Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca, New York.
“From a numbers perspective, it will mean 1,000 new jobs in Erie County,” he said. Pantano also believes that a casino would aid in “creating a critical mass of people in downtown Buffalo,” citing the six million people who visited the Seneca Niagara Casino in 2004.
Both of the major contenders in this week’s mayoral race have supported building a casino in downtown Buffalo. Democratic frontrunner Byron Brown said in the October 27 mayoral debate that a casino, under the condition that it employed Buffalo residents, would bring about the positive change that the city of Buffalo needs.
A Sucker’s Bet?
A casino’s impact, however, cannot be measured solely in raw statistics.
Joel Rose, 61, is one Buffalonian who was worried by the possibility of gambling in Erie County. Following the Seneca Nation’s compact with Governor Pataki in May of 2002—before their casinos were even approved by the state—Joel helped to found a community action group called Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County (CACGEC). Rose is now a co-chairperson of the group, which boasts “just over 1,000” members, and has been meeting the first Tuesday of every month since its inception.
“Some change just makes things worse,” said Rose. “In economic terms, [opening a casino] is just a disaster. Successful cities don’t even toy with the idea.”
“This is a bad idea for the community,” he said. “In a city that does not have substantial tourist trade, the dollars going into it are coming from local pockets and then being sent out of the area.”
Mayor Masiello’s office doesn’t believe that this will be a problem. “There is gaming here now,” said Chief of Staff Hasset. “Lottery, OTB, casinos in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and New York—all of that money is going somewhere else than Buffalo.” The administration feels that the impact that the casino will have on businesses in the area will offset any money spent by Buffalonians.
“Holistically, looking at it as one piece in a puzzle down on our waterfront, it would be good for our community,” said Rich Geiger, the CEO of the Buffalo-Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau. He agreed that jobs would be brought in by the casino, but was less convinced on the economic impact it would have on surrounding businesses. “I don’t believe the casino will have a negative impact on the businesses there, but I also don’t believe it will have a huge positive impact either.”
Geiger worried that the whole concept of creating a “critical mass” downtown is a fallacy.
“Its business plan acts as an island,” he said. According to Geiger, casinos are designed to draw people in, and then provide them with all of the necessary services they want. “People come, stay, then get safely back in their cars and go home.” In his view, gamblers would not be frequenting area establishments and entertainment facilities during trips to the casino, as they would have no need, and, more importantly, no motivation to do so.
The House Always Wins
Rose is also worried about what the peripheral effects will be after Buffalo gives away a sizeable portion of the waterfront property—an area that is currently being touted as the answer to Buffalo’s continuing economic woes.
“In particular with Indian casinos, you have a problem with the sovereignty,” Rose said. “You lose any ability to oppose regulations at both the state and local level.” Because the land granted to the Seneca Nation becomes their property—a foreign country for all intents and purposes—the U.S. government loses all control over what goes on with it.
Rose cited the Seneca Niagara Casino as a perfect example of the complications that can arise from such a situation. “On the 50 acres that the Seneca Nation acquired with the Niagara Falls casino stood the aeronautical museum,” he said. “The museum had a 50-year lease for that space, but now [the Seneca Nation is] attempting to terminate it. This is the kind of thing that anyone who runs afoul of the casino is going to encounter.”
“The Senecas don’t have to pay state taxes,” said the President and CEO of the Niagara USA Chamber of Congress Tom Kraus, who had similar concerns with sovereignty issues. “Private businesses in the area have to—they can’t compete with that.”
“If in fact a casino is going to be built, the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau will aggressively promote it,” Geiger said. “We would like to see out-of-towners filling the casino.”
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership (BNP), which according to their website is a group “made up of local employers, working together, for growth in our region,” came out in opposition to a Seneca casino in February of 2004. At the time, they said in their press release that, “If Seneca casinos and their revenues are not going to be a means to fostering new economic development, we must now question the fundamental value of the overall compact.”
In light of recent developments that have made the casino all but an inevitability, they have since rescinded their opposition. Sarah Ham, a representative for the BNP said that their organization is now, “officially neutral in our assessment of a casino’s value to the Buffalo business community, but since it seems to be a reality, we are working hard to lobby Governor Pataki and the New York State Legislature in order to secure certain assets and benefits from any such casino.”
Though Ham offered little insight into the “assets and benefits” that the BNP is seeking, it would seem that they want to insure that things such as construction contracts and materials subcontracting will go to local businesses and corporations. Also, there is the question of casino profits: will the public’s share of the money go to Albany, or will it be reinvested in the Buffalo community?
When Luck Runs Out
For some, though, fiscal effects are not the only concern.
“Seven percent of all the people who walk into that casino will become problem gamblers,” said Rose, the CACGEC founder. In an August 1999 article in the American Journal of Public Health, it was stated that an estimated 5.1 percent of Americans are problem gamblers. “Their lives will by and large be ruined—breakup of families, suicides, spousal abuse, child neglect. For them it can be a life terminating ordeal. Even if I thought a casino could be successful, I would still not support it because of the damage that can be done.”
Kevin A. Keenan, director of communications for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo shared Rose’s concerns. “Gambling addiction rates are already high in the young and elderly in Buffalo, and they will only rise,” he said.
Keenan is one of many religious leaders—from a variety of different faiths—who belongs to an organization called the Network of Religious Communities (NRC). In an October 5 statement, the NRC called on both the Seneca Nation and officials in Buffalo to reconsider the location of the proposed casino. Their message, as Keenan states it, is clear: “A casino will have a detrimental effect on both our downtown community and economy.”
Buyer’s Remorse
On New Year’s Eve in 2002, the Seneca Niagara Casino opened in Niagara Falls, New York. Public optimism for the casino’s effect on Niagara Falls’ then-struggling economy was high.
“Casino gaming makes sense in Niagara Falls, a city of deficient leadership that has utterly failed to redevelop a downtown gutted long ago in the name of urban renewal,” read a Buffalo News editorial that ran just a few days before the casino opened its doors.
Today, downtown Niagara Falls is marked by the casino and its large, pristine parking garage, bordered on its front by an empty lot and abandoned building, and on its side by dilapidated laundromats and auto repair shops. The only restaurant in view of its front entrance is an outdated Pizza Hut that sits in the corner of the casino’s outdoor parking lot. A short drive down the road and across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada reveals a decidedly different scene—shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues light up the streets as thousands of tourists walk around under the watchful eye of Casino Niagara’s tower.
With no evidence of the expected economic boom, much of the enthusiasm for the Seneca Niagara Casino seems to have worn off.
“Basically, the feelings are mixed,” said the Niagara USA Chamber’s Kraus. “There are many who believe the Seneca Niagara Casino is the first step in a strong economic recovery in Niagara Falls. There have also been businesses like restaurants that have shut down or moved because they just can’t compete. It’s still too early to tell what the long term effects will be.”
One restaurant owner, Gary Macri, was forced to close down his Niagara Falls eatery and relocate it to Wheatfield after a drop off in business following the casino’s opening, according to a Buffalo News article published three weeks ago. “They had free drinks—I can’t compete. They had smoking—I can’t compete,” Macri said. “They are going to absolutely kill the restaurants in downtown Buffalo.”
Macri believes that the casino has affected not only his business, but many others like him. “There’s not a restaurant in Niagara Falls that’s doing anything like the business they did before,” he said.
If downtown Buffalo seems like a ghost town now, one need only look at what the future could bring with a massive gaming facility at its heart.
The city is on the verge of a new era—one that could either bring with it a rapid descent into a Niagara Falls, New York-like desolation, or an economic revitalization much like our neighbors to the north. Only one thing remains certain, with the casino’s construction becoming more of an inevitability each day, it has truly become Buffalo’s gamble.
