St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Empire Resorts, Inc. Join Defense of St. Regis Mohawk Casino at Monticello Raceway

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe today announced that, in a joint stipulation filed in federal district court in New York, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Empire Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: NYNY) were granted full rights as an equal party to the federal government to assist in defense of the environmental review for the St. Regis Mohawk tribe’s Monticello Raceway casino project in Sullivan County.

By supporting the federal government in defense of the legal challenge brought by the NRDC, the Tribe and Empire will have a full opportunity to explain to the court the careful and detailed environmental review conducted for the Monticello Raceway proposal over the past decade and how this crucial economic development project will provide tremendous benefit to the region without any adverse impact to the environment or local community.

“Lawsuits and what we would view as frivolous releases cannot confuse the facts: the St. Regis Mohawk Casino at Monticello Raceway is overwhelmingly supported by the people of Sullivan County and elected officials at all levels. The environmental review was complete, thorough, and detailed; it met Federal and State requirements and disclosed all anticipated consequences of the casino. Based on this analysis, the casino remains one of the most important priorities in the county and the state, and we look forward to the final administrative approval being obtained soon,” said St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Chief Lorraine White.

Also this week, the plaintiff organizations and the federal government agreed to a temporary stay of court activities pending the Secretary’s final determination on taking the 29.31 acres of land at the Monticello Raceway into trust for the benefit of the Tribe. The Tribe and Empire have confirmed that the process to take the land into trust is moving forward and expect that consideration of this final action will be made promptly. Once the Secretary announces that final administrative act, any future litigation will resume on an expedited schedule, according to the stipulation supported by the Tribe and Empire Resorts. Obtaining the NRDC and other plaintiffs’ agreement to conclude this litigation on an expedited basis was a key component in granting a temporary stay of the case.

“We are proud to be able to stand up anywhere to defend our record of environmental compliance,” said Barbara Lazore, Tribal Chief of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. “Our commitment to environmental protection and preservation is reflected in the detailed Environmental Assessment prepared by the federal government, the Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the Village of Monticello under state law, and in the full administrative record. We are confident this robust record of environmental review will be upheld in all respects by the federal district court.”

Dave Hanlon, President of Empire Resort, believes that the expedited conduct of the litigation is an extremely positive development. “All too often, delay is the best friend of obstructionist litigants like the NRDC. By filing their case, the NRDC is trying to impede the effort of a Tribe to become economically self-sufficient. Getting an agreement to move forward quickly in this case takes away a huge element of uncertainty and preserves the opportunity for the Tribe to create thousands of jobs for the community and contribute to the desperately-needed revitalization of the Catskills region. We now know that once a final decision to take the land into trust is made, and should the case need to move forward, it can be briefed and decided without delay.”

The Tribe and Empire believe that everything else about the project remains on track. The Secretary of the Department of the Interior and his chief deputies at the Bureau of Indian Affairs have all the information necessary to make a final determination to take the land into trust. All the factors that contributed to the agency’s “Finding of No Significant Impact” (FONSI) following the exhaustive environmental review also support the finding that taking the land into trust is in the public interest and will have no detrimental effects on the Village of Monticello and surrounding communities.

“We view the temporary stay as a positive development that frees the Department to issue its final determination without interference from pending litigation,” continued Mr. Hanlon. “Once that decision is made, the Tribe and Empire will approach the court immediately.”

“We fully expect to proceed to defense of the government’s actions in the near future,” concluded Chief White.

St. Regis Mohawk Tribe St. Regis Mohawk Tribe http://srmt-nsn.gov/home.htm Environment Division For The Next Seven Generations http://www.srmtenv.org/index.php

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council is the duly elected and federally recognized government of the Mohawk people.