Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe waits patiently for casino

Tuesday, September 2, 2008  

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts is waiting patiently on its casino bid, a year after submitting a land-into-trust application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

At the time the application was filed in late August 2007, the tribe said the process would take 18 months. The BIA has already held a series of public hearings on the proposal so it looks like the timetable might hold.

Less certain is whether the tribe will be able to negotiate a Class III gaming compact with the state. Gov. Deval Patrick (D) is open to negotiations but full-scale gaming is not yet legal in the state. He also won't negotiate until the land for the casino site is in trust.

“It doesn’t start until they say it starts,” Patrick said, GateHouse News Service reported. “And there’s not a lot of point in starting until the land-in-trust process is finished.”

Get the Story:
Tribe waiting patiently for Middleboro casino negotiations (GateHouse News Service 9/2)