The tribes that would get the Catskills casinos are not specified, but it is widely assumed that one would go to the Mohawks, and other tribes have expressed interest in getting into the business.

Still, the accord would eliminate one of the largest hurdles to developing the Catskills casino, a $500 million project that officials in Sullivan County hope will revitalize the region's fading resort industry.

Mr. Pataki said the prime argument for a Catskills casino was the hundreds of new jobs it would produce for a struggling resort area, not the extra revenue for the state treasury.

The Oneidas are interested in operating one of the three Catskills casinos, but would also have to settle their claims first, state officials have said.

And the Mohawks, though distracted by a possible Catskills casino, are asking for various islands and parcels straddling the Canadian border.

Mr. Trump opposes development of a Catskills casino, which could draw business away from his Atlantic City casinos.

The legislation being hammered out does not specify locations for the Catskills casinos, but it is likely that one would be at Kutsher's.

The Catskills casinos are bogged down in the same legal and cultural quagmire that has bedeviled the state's relations with Indian tribes for generations: land ownership, taxes and sovereignty.

In May 2003, in fact, the Mohawks became the first tribe to reach a comprehensive settlement on claims and taxes and were granted a Catskills casino.

But analysts have said that a large Catskills casino could overshadow them and pose significant competition to casinos in Atlantic City and Connecticut.