Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe seeks new casino deal

Thursday, June 18, 2009  

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts hopes to negotiate a new casino deal after an economic feasibility study indicated the market wasn't as large as originally expected.

New tribal leaders commissioned the study after discovering a 2006 letter from the late Nelson Westrin, who was advising the tribe. Westrin, who served on the National Indian Gaming Commission before his death in 2008, warned that the deal wasn't as favorable to the tribe and would have granted investors a "proprietary interest" in a future casino.

The study showed that the casino would bring in about $700 million a year in revenues. That's lower than the amount the tribe was previously told.

"This project was supposed to provide an economic stimulus and improve the quality of life for the tribe," Chairman Cedric Cromwell told The Middleboro Gazette. "The numbers just don't come together that way."

Get the Story:
Tribe wants to renegotiate casino deal with its investors (The Middleboro Gazette 6/18)