Magic Palace Casino Owners File $220 Million Lawsuit Against Kahnawake Council Over Shutdown

• The Magic Palace’s casino license was revoked amid cartel allegations
• Owners claim denial of due process and financial losses
• Lawsuit alleges a conflict of interest within the tribal council

The co-owners of the shuttered Magic Palace casino in Montreal have filed a $220 million lawsuit against the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK), accusing the tribal regulator of unlawfully terminating their gaming operations and breaching their constitutional rights to due process.

At the heart of the dispute is the decision by the council to revoke Magic Palace’s licensing in March 2024. This followed media reports alleging that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was investigating one of the casino’s international investors.

In October 2023, La Presse reported that Albanian-born Luftar Hysa “recycles money from Mexican traffickers and … uses a casino in Kahnawake to do so.”

Hysa is being investigated in three countries for links to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, one of the most powerful and violent drug-trafficking organizations in the world, according to court documents cited by La Presse.

The casino severed its ties with its major investor the next day, a move that was praised by MCK in a press release.

‘Baseless, Weaponized’

Casino operators Stanley Myiow and Barry Alfred claim in their lawsuit that the allegations were baseless and weaponized to justify a campaign to dismantle their business without a hearing or clear evidence.

The plaintiffs claim they were never allowed to respond to the allegations. The casino’s closure resulted in significant financial loss, including the cancellation of a planned expansion project, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs assert that by suspending the license and immediately canceling the royalty agreement, the MCK created a situation in which the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) would not proceed with a hearing.

Because the KGC requires an active royalty agreement to consider a case, the termination effectively blocked the business from defending itself, according to the lawsuit.

This left the plaintiffs in a “regulatory Catch-22” where they were denied their “fundamental right to be heard,” per the complaint.

Conflict of Interest Claim

The lawsuit also claims a conflict of interest involving a sitting council member who didn’t recuse himself from discussions or decisions about Magic Palace despite having ties to a competing gaming operation, Playground Poker.

“New evidence, including crucial admissions, now confirms what we had long known: that the MCK’s actions were based on false claims and a clear disregard for due process,” the plaintiffs asserted, as reported by The Eastern Door. “These revelations speak for themselves, are thoroughly detailed in public proceedings, and expose a pattern of abuse.”