ALBANY – Hillary Clinton, who once fought against casinos in Arkansas, yesterday backed a planned Indian-run casino for the Catskills.
“Hillary believes that the development of a casino at the Monticello Raceway can be the spark for economic growth in the Catskills, and she supports it,” said Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson.
“At the same time we must ensure that any development meets community needs so that the community benefits,” he added.
The first lady had been mum on the project until yesterday, the day after Republican Senate rival Mayor Giuliani voiced his support for the plan.
As Arkansas first lady, Clinton helped spearhead a 1984 campaign to defeat a proposed state constitutional amendment to legalize casinos in that state for the first time since the 1960s.
She said at the time that legalized gambling “is not as rosy and promising as it is being presented,” and warned casinos tend to attract criminal activity and are a bad way to help fund public education.
Giuliani spokeswoman Kim Serafin accused Clinton of “flip-flopping” on the issue, and mocked her for “once again following Mayor Giuliani’s lead.”
But Wolfson said the Monticello situation is “completely different” from what happened in Arkansas, where the amendment would have allowed for 17 casinos in one county and was opposed by local officials and law enforcement.
Giuliani’s support of the Monticello project is also a change from three years ago, when the mayor opposed an effort to legalize casinos in historic tourism areas, including the Catskills, because the measure did not include the city.
The mayor’s supporters argue that unlike Clinton, Giuliani never came out against casinos. He was seeking to protect the city’s interests in a statewide effort, which is different from the Indian proposal, which falls under federal law, they say.
The St. Regis Mohawks last week received federal approval for what developers say would be the largest casino in the country at Monticello Raceway in Sullivan County, just 70 miles north of the city.
Estimates are that 9 million people would visit the casino annually, generating at least $500 million in yearly revenues.
The big question now is whether Gov. Pataki, whose OK of the proposal is needed, will decide the issue on his own or punt it to the Legislature, where it faces a more uncertain future.
Yesterday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the state’s most powerful Democrat and an ardent casino supporter, told The Post that Pataki should approve the project without input from the Legislature.
“If the governor wants this to happen, he should make it happen,” Silver said. “If he sends it up to the Legislature, the Senate will kill it.”
Pataki has remained mum on his plans.