Stop us if you’ve heard this one: The Seneca Nation owes New York State hundreds of millions of dollars.

The nation’s latest attempt to duck its obligation to hand over casino revenue-sharing money to New York State involves asking a federal district judge to put a pause on legal proceedings. The Senecas are pinning their hopes on a letter they received from the U.S. Interior Department, agreeing to review the legality of the 2002 gaming compact between the Senecas and New York.

The nation is entitled to exhaust all of its legal options, though the matter should have been settled two years ago when an arbitration panel decided in the state’s favor. Binding arbitration owes its existence to the consent of the arbitrated; both sides agree in advance to abide by it. The Senecas went to court to appeal the arbitration decision, the legal equivalent of losing a coin flip and saying, “Let’s do two out of three.”

In the original compact, the Senecas agreed to share a portion of the revenue from slot machines at three Western New York casinos with the state, which then pays a portion to localities throughout the region. The Senecas paid the state $1.4 billion from 2002 to 2017, then stopped making payments, asserting that the compact – which runs through 2023 – did not specify any payments after the 14th year.