"The townspeople of Middleboro will gather tomorrow in Town Meeting to decide on the fate of a $1 billion casino proposed by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.

As to the merits of the case, well, frankly to any outsider it looks like a no-brainer. The benefits offered to the town would make it the envy of many other communities in this state. Those include some $11 million a year in direct payments (with an escalator clause) plus some $250 million in infrastructure improvements and an upfront payment of $2 million to pay for new police cruisers, fire equipment, ambulances and the personnel to go with them.

None of this will happen overnight. Federal authorities would have to approve the 125 acres of town land being purchased by the Wampanoags as “tribal land” entitled to sovereignty.

The addition of slot machines - and what’s a casino without slots - also requires the signing of a compact with the state. But a report on casino gambling now on the desk of Gov. Deval Patrick ought to help jumpstart that part of the process."

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Editorial: Middleboro leads, others will follow (The Boston Herald 7/27)