Lawsuit? What lawsuit? The Senecas are going at this project like there is no tomorrow with seemingly 24/7 work on the project. What is mostly taking shape right now is the parking garage which should be fairly large onto itself. Next to it is the actual Casino which should be about the same height as the garage. Whatever comes about of the lawsuits and appeals, there is no doubt that in the meantime the Senecas will continue to make big money at the temporary lot. The parking lot is just always packed to waste money away at this little blue shed. Mindblowing.

Anyone with a remote interest in Buffalo is aware of the casino ruling and the opinions are varied and abundant.

The casino had the potential to serve as an entertainment anchor along with the HSBC Arena to help encourage business. And before you bring the Seneca Niagara analogy I submit to you that their (NF) project was
1. around minimal development
2. brought in revenue to pay for the new NF airport
3. put pressure on surrounding hotels to up the ante or die

One could argue the announcement of the hotel aspect of the project put some extra pressure on the Adams Mark and maybe even the Hyatt to make sure their upgrades were soon and of high quality.

A Buffalo Creek casino could have had some drawing power to developers needing an extra reason to commit to a store or restaurant or hotel on Canal Side. Since Canal Side is to become a regional attraction-having a large facility that draws people who clearly have a burning hole in their wallet who hail from Cheektowaga or Fort Erie or anywhere else around town-would help increase foot traffic at some small to medium scale.

In reference to the Senecas sucking in the poor who live in the Perry Projects or Douglass Towers- I have never once seen a pedestrian go to the casino, I’ve also never seen anyone get off an NFTA Bus to go there while the parking lot is packed all the time…I’m not buying the ‘exploitation of the nearby poor’ theory. Yes, a blue tool shed with slot machines has drawn in some not-so-fancy characters for the most part, but I can’t see the clientele base not evolving a bit after the completed project.

I think gambling is a stupid thing, I resent the fact that Buffalo got such a paltry deal on the project, and I think anyone who regarded the project as a great way to revitalize downtown is delusional BUT I think every project with drawing power adds up to eventually create a much better downtown. The more options one has when looking for things to do downtown, the better it is for everyone. The Senecas are in the game of profiting off of people who want to throw money away knowing that there is some sort of chance that they’ll get some of it back but the sad reality is that most of if not all these customers already waste their money on OTB’s and the Fort Erie Slots and NF Ontario Casinos-if your dwindling tax base wants to waste money, at least give them an option of doing so while giving back to the local municipalities.

To stereotype further, a bunch of old rich people in North Buffalo got together to sue because they feel they know what’s best for everyone else in the area. Whether they’re right or not is debatable. The Cobblestone District will continue to slowly evolve, probably into a quiet, high-rent loft neighborhood with some decent restaurants and cafes but they missed out on a chance to take a quicker path to vibrancy-perhaps a riskier one at that but Buffalo is in a position in which taking big chances might not be such a bad idea.

The casino issue could become another eternal Buffalo punchline if certain things play out.

In today’s Buffalo News article about the finished casino, Pantano says that the SGC wants to employ 1,000 people and build a permanent facility “eventually.” Kind of like when the SGC said they’d consider keeping the H-O Oats grain elevator up (which was purely just to shut up preservationists and no other reason). Not to say that the Senecas aren’t good for their word *ahem* but that quote just screams out that the new blue-truck depot-looking- thing is going to be there for an extremely, extremely long time. And thats if the Seneca’s are even allowed to put slots in.

If not, then we’ll have that blue thing there anyways, for god knows how long. Why would the Senecas want to spend money on taking down the thing? Its not like they contractually obliged to do anything really.

Paladino said in a BrO interview that the Senecas don’t even want to be downtown, they have to according to the compact.

Will the Seneca’s be allowed to put a casino in Cheektowaga instead? If so, we’ll look back and regret not being able cash in on the money we could have recieved and the potential extra activity around the post-apocalyptic-looking cobblestone district. In fact, imagine a synergy created from the casino, to the Savarino Cobblestone Project, to the HSBC Arena, to Canal Side and you have yourself a potential 24/7 area.

In my opinion a casino in dowtown Buffalo is a wash. Some good coming with an equal amount of bad. But if you’re gonna have a casino, you might as well have a good one and it looks like that will not be the case unless the Senecas are 1. allowed to open for business and 2. follow up on their plans for a permanent facility.

Look forward to adding “downtown casino” to “main place mall”, “metro rail”, “adelphia tower”, “wide right”, “peace bridge”, “no goal”, etc etc etc…

If this isn’t architecture at its finest…

Seriously, it looks like this is where you store plow trucks or salt or dirt or something like that. Not even ONE window. Sweeeet.

Really exciting times in the cobblestone district [end sarcasm]. They’re laying in the foundation for some temporary goodness. They have a parking lot paved already. So if you happen to be taking a stroll over to the Perry Projects, don’t forget to check out whatever this thing is going to look like.

Saw Carl Paladino on the cover of Artvoice so I had to pick it up. I saw the piece was written by Bruce Jackson so I lost the excitement quickly but no worries-it’s a word for word transcript of an TOTALLY AWESOME interview-not you’re typical rhetoric filled, slam piece by Jackson. Paladino is in fullllll form in this one and for the most part I agree with him.

Although people from UB are totally NOT liberal elitists k?

Anyone who is frustrated with Mayor Brown’s stance on Fulton Street and sympathizes with Barry Snyder because the Casino won’t look as nice because they don’t have that street…let me say this.

The Seneca Nation never had Fulton Street. It was a cheap, douchebag move to refuse to sign a document saying they wouldn’t purchase more land because “it is an insult to the culture and heritage of the seneca nation to make us sign an agreement…take our word that we wont ask for more land.” It was also a cheap, douchebag move to make blueprints and release them to the public in a grandiose way using property that you don’t even fucking have…making Buffalonians go “oh man, we better give them Fulton or else it won’t look as nice.”
I’m not even anti-casino. You already have an unfair business advantage…but then manipulating the government you’re taking the land from and manipulating the public your about to milk dry with your slot machines….that’s pretty lame.

God I hate douchebags. Especailly tax-free ones.

So today I was taking a stroll around the cobblestone district to look at the Savarino HQ’s and of course to cross the border into the “Soverign Nation of the Seneca Nation” (Buffalo Creek Territory) and I had to stop.
Seneca Nation po-po rolled up.
Ummmm…whaaa?
Yes, the Seneca Nation has a police force patrolling the area. I was confused as to who I was and where I was. I couldn’t even take a picture I was so shocked. But then I got myself together and smelled the cheerios coming from the General Mills plant.
I AM still in Buffalo…at least for now.

Maybe I haven’t watched TV in a bit but for the 1st time tonight, I saw a Seneca Nation commercial flaunting impressive statistics about the planned “Buffalo Creek” casino. It was actually the best done local commercial I have ever seen (Buffalo is not known for its cutting edge, flashy commercials-we enjoy a nice 1940’s theme to ours). Nice picture of the waterfront and action shots of downtown making our city look like a busy entertainment center.
This commercial definitley will get anyone who doesn’t read up on the issues involving this casino-those same people are the customer base of the gambling joints of this area.

Perhaps Barry Snyder is just dangling a carrot in front of the rabbits we are, but according to the Buffalo News, the Seneca Nation is heavily considering retaining the H-O Oats grain elevator as part of its casino in the Cobblestone district.

That would help maintain the theme of that part of town but it still disturbs the emerging real estate potential behind the arena. Speaking of real estate, the Superman of Buffalo (aka Brian Higgins) is looking to make sure the Seneca Nation doesn’t start buying up a bunch of land that will not be used for a casino which could be a problem

…afterall the “Nation” has sold property worth millions for….$4.00 as it retains its sovergnity from the evil white man.
Anyways, the Casino is moving quickly and will be ready in plenty of time…hopefully this thing becomes an asset to Downtown and not some evil black hole that many are precieving it to be. My opinion? It will be neither great nor horrible for the city. There will always be plenty of people who choose to eat and be entertained at Buffalo establishments. There will be poor, pathetic souls who waste away their life and money at the casino. In the end it will balance out into something we can all tolerate-so let’s cool down with the whole thing. If Buffalo could survive losing half its population and almost all of its young and bright, it can surive some old men from Cheektowaga and Lackawanna praying for “7 7 7″ on a slot machine downtown.