A Long Island Indian tribe with backing from deep-pocketed investors and high-powered lobbyists cleared a major hurdle this week toward federal recognition _ the key for any tribe seeking permission to open a casino.

But the Shinnecocks still face daunting obstacles before they can start the roulette wheels spinning anywhere but on their tiny strip of seaside territory in the Hamptons.

Local elected officials and tribal leaders agree the summer playground for the rich and famous would make a lousy location for a casino.

"I don't feel the type of facility we're envisioning would be right for eastern Long Island," said Fred Bess, a Shinnecock trustee leading the tribe's casino effort. He and others noted that existing traffic nightmares _ visitors must navigate a narrow highway into Southampton and points east _ and other quality-of-life issues would not be conducive to attracting gamblers.

U.S. Rep. Timothy Bishop, whose district includes the Shinnecocks' 1.9-square-mile reservation, and local elected officials also oppose gambling on the reservation.

Bess said the tribe would like to go elsewhere, but that "everything is negotiable." He estimated it would take 18 months to build a casino, once permanent federal regulation is approved _ possibly by next spring _ and other regulatory approvals are obtained.

Tribal leaders have a pending lawsuit in which they are laying claim to more Hamptons land, but have expressed a willingness to negotiate a settlement. Off-reservation possibilities include a planned resort in Calverton in Suffolk County, the Belmont Park horse track in neighboring Nassau County, Aqueduct Raceway in Queens or as far north as the Catskills.

A state senator has written to Gov. David Paterson, suggesting a meeting among Shinnecock leaders and state and local officials to discuss the suitability of Belmont Park. The racetrack just outside New York City is accessible by several major highways and has a Long Island Rail Road station. In 2007, the tribe discussed a possible casino at Aqueduct in Queens, but later dropped the plan.

A leading expert on gambling, however, said the odds are stacked against a casino off reservation land.

Bennett Liebman, head of Albany Law School's racing and gaming law program, said any land designated for a casino off the Shinnecock reservation would have to be taken into trust by the federal government. Only four off-reservation casinos have ever been approved, and none since the 1990s, said Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.