New York: Cayuga Nation opens new LakeSide Entertainment Casino in Seneca Falls

The Cayuga Nation, operator of LakeSide Entertainment Casino in Union Springs, has expanded its offering by opening a new Lakeside Entertainment location in Seneca Falls. The facility opened to the public on Friday and it is located at the intersection of Route 89 and Garden Street Extension, in New York's Northern District.

The Cayuga Nation council, led by Clint Halftown, seized the property in 2020 when the Cayuga Nation Police executed a raid and demolished buildings operated by a fraction that does not recognize Halftown. The fraction opposing the nation’s gaming interests had operated the property for six years before the seizure.

Lakeside Entertainment is a Class II gaming facility under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Under the law, a Class II facility can offer bingo and video gaming machines, similar to slot machines.

"In addition to our various other enterprises, gaming has long been a way that we can provide critical resources for our community at large and the citizens of the Cayuga Nation," Halftown said in a statement.

Cayuga Nation’s other Lakeside Entertainment gaming facility is located in Union Springs, which borders one of New York’s Finger Lakes. It was the subject of a lawsuit between the Cayuga Nation and Union Spring authorities who demanded that the tribe obtain a license. The federally recognized Cayuga tribe sued the village claiming that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act preempts the application of the village ordinance. 

The case was initially dismissed in 2015, but the decision was reversed in the 2nd Circuit in 2016, in a unanimous decision. Judge Gerard Lynch rejected the view of the village that the tribe’s federal representative lacked standing to sue, and that an injury-in-fact has not been sufficiently alleged by the Cayuga tribe. The three-judge panel said that Clint Halftown, who filed the lawsuit on the tribe’s behalf, was recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as the tribe’s last legitimate leader.

The latest LakeSide Entertainment casino opening at the Seneca Falls location represents a simultaneous opening of a range of opportunities for the federally recognized tribe. "We are excited to add this new gaming facility in addition to our existing casino in Union Springs and look forward to welcoming residents in the coming days," Halftown concluded.

According to the Cayuga Nation, the launch of the Seneca Falls gaming facility has already created 15 new jobs.