Indian Gaming

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission agreed to consider bids for a casino that is supposed to be reserved for "a federally recognized tribe."

The commission will accept applications -- including a $400,000 non-refundable fee -- from outside groups even as the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe continues to pursue the casino. In about six months, the panel will decide whether to move forward without the tribe.

"It strikes me as likely that we will know a lot more than we do now," commission member James McHugh said at a public meeting yesterday, the Associated Press reported.

The tribe's casino quest faces major hurdles, mainly the the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The ruling restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" as of 1934.

The Mashpees didn't gain federal recognition until May 2007. Chairman Cedric Cromwell, however, said the tribe was confident of success.

"We understand the gaming commission wants to have a back up plan, but we believe it will prove unnecessary because we will be successful in our plans for a destination resort casino in Taunton," Cromwell said in a statement yesterday.

"We are pleased with the strong support that Governor Patrick is giving our land in trust application, and our project is much further along than any other in the Commonwealth. It is the only one in Massachusetts to have a host community agreement and to have won the support of the voters in a local referendum," Cromwel; added. As a federally recognized tribe we have the unique right to conduct gaming in our ancestral homeland. Once we get the green light, we expect to start construction and put people to work immediately."

The tribe also needs to negotiate a new Class III gaming compact. The Bureau of Indian Affairs rejected the first agreement because revenue sharing provisions were too high.

Get the Story:
Casino license in play for Mashpee tribe? (The Cape Cod Times 12/12)
Panel to take SE Mass. casino bids (AP 12/11)

Related Stories:
Cedric Cromwell: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on casino path (12/10)