Prior investors own Mashpee Wampanoag gaming site

Wednesday, December 2, 2009  

The site where the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts wants to build a casino is apparently owned by gaming moguls Len Wolman and Sol Kerzner, The New London Day reports.

The tribe filed a land-into-trust application for 539 acres in Middleboro. The Day said Wolman and Kerzner own 500 acres in the town.

The tribe reached an agreement in principle to terminate its relationship with Wolman and Kerzner. Neither side has commented about the terms of the deal or the status of land ownership.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has been working on the environmental impact statement for the casino but the tribe's application has been called into doubt as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The ruling could stop the Mashpees from following the land-into-trust process because they didn't gain federal recognition until May 2007.

Get the Story:
Mashpee tribe ends Wolman/Kerzner partnership (The New London Day 12/2)
New investors in Middleboro casino spurs interest in renegotiating the town’s contract (The Brockton Enterprise 11/30)