A Native American tribe is set to drop a bombshell bid to build and run the city's first casino — a $1.4 billion gaming palace at Aqueduct Racetrack, the Daily News has learned.
The last-minute proposal may be a long shot, but the Shinnecock Indians are hoping to entice the city and state with the prospect of a half-billion dollars in revenue a year.
The tribe also is dangling another sweetener: a promise to drop its fight to build a casino on its ancestral lands in Southampton, which has roiled the playground of the rich and powerful.
The Shinnecock bid, which will be submitted to the state tomorrow, aims to upend plans for a smaller video-lottery complex at the Thoroughbred race track in Ozone Park, Queens.
Three companies are expected to submit bids to run that lottery facility, a racino slated to have 4,500 video terminals.
But the Shinnecock — who are teamed with a Michigan sports mogul who operates a Detroit casino — have a far grander vision rivaling Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
The bid calls for a million-square-foot casino with 10,500 slots, 350 gaming tables and 12,000 employees. A 1,200-room hotel and other amenities would be built with community input, the tribe says.
"It would be great for the City of New York," said Fred Bess, a Shinnecock trustee. "New York is tired of watching all the gaming revenues going to Atlantic City and Connecticut."
Though casinos are illegal in New York, federally recognized Indian tribes can build gambling facilities on their reservation land.
In 2003, the Shinnecock sparked an uproar by breaking ground for a casino on an 80-acre parcel called Westwood on the east end of Long Island.
The town of Southampton and the state responded with a federal lawsuit seeking to stop the tribe. A trial ended in May, and a decision from the judge could come any day.
The Shinnecock believe they are likely to win the case — and they are also hopeful about a pending suit that lays claim to 2,800 acres of Hamptons land and demands billions from the state for seizing it.
The litigation, they believe, can be used as leverage to forge a deal on Aqueduct. Powerful opponents of a Hamptons casino theoretically would lobby for the Shinnecock to run a facility in the city instead.
But even if the political stars aligned, the Shinnecock would face another stumbling block: They must be federally recognized as a tribe to open a casino.
A federal judge's ruling recognized the Shinnecock in 2005, but the tribe is still trying to force the U.S. Department of the Interior to acknowledge it. A lawsuit was filed last year.
Bess said he is optimistic the tribe can negotiate a global settlement with the state and feds — giving it tribal recognition and making the land around the racetrack reservation property.
"I think it's a good shot and anybody who looks at it will have to give serious consideration," Bess said.
The Shinnecock have no experience running a casino but they have partnered with Gateway Casino Resorts, a venture of Michigan business mogul Marian Ilitch.
Ilitch, who co-founded Little Caesar's Pizza and owns the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Red Wings, owns the MotorCity Casino Resort in Detroit and should be considered a serious player, an industry analyst said.
"They're kind of a small company but I think they have a lot of respect," said Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business magazine.
He said MotorCity has performed as well as the MGM Grand Detroit under Ilitch's control. "That has really impressed me," he said.
The Aqueduct bid estimates a full-size casino would bring in $2.1 billion annually. The city and state would share a 25% kickback from the $1.5 billion generated annually by the casino's slot machines and would receive added tax revenues.
By contrast, the video lottery racino that opened at Yonkers Raceway last October with 5,500 terminals grossed $350 million in its first year.
The Shinnecock would have nothing to do with horse racing. Gov. Spitzer has endorsed a plan for the New York Racing Association to continue operating the track.
Other players in the hunt for gambling gold
Before the Shinnecock Indians entered the fray, three private companies were vying to run the gambling operations at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Empire Racing, Excelsior and Capital Play all submitted proposals to take over horse racing at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga and run the video lottery terminals at Aqueduct.
But Gov. Spitzer has recommended the New York Racing Association keep the horse-racing franchise at all three tracks — and a separate contract be awarded for the video slots.
The deadline for bids is tomorrow. It's unclear who will step forward. But here's a look at the companies that have expressed interest:
Excelsior
Backed by Las Vegas casino developer Steve Wynn, the group also includes politically connected gaming developer Richard Fields.
Empire Racing
A Saratoga-based coalition of horse-racing and gambling interests. Churchill Downs and thoroughbred breeder Marylou Whitney withdrew last week.
Capital Play
An Australian-based gaming company allied with real estate developer Stephen Ross and the Mohegan Sun.
There were reports last week that Capital Play and Empire Racing may join forces.
tconnor@nydailynews.com
