Casino Stalker | Compacts | Legislation

Massachusetts governor addresses Wampanoag casino bid

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) continues to support the legalization of casinos in the state but says it might be a while before the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe gets into the game.

Lawmakers have yet to pass a bill to authorize full-scale gaming. And if that happens, the tribe still needs to negotiate a Class III gaming compact and have land placed in trust for a casino.

"When it comes to gaming, what I say and have said over and over again is take a deep breath," Patrick said at at a meeting of the Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry, The New Bedford Standard-Times reported. "We don't have a gaming bill yet. We still have to do that, and we're working on it."

The tribe wants to open a casino in Fall River, on a 300-acre site that was slated for a biotechnology park. Patrick said both projects can co-exist.

"There is not one magic bullet for the economic development and opportunity of the SouthCoast," Patrick told reporters after the meeting, The Standard-Times reported. "It has to be multiple things."

Get the Story:
Governor cautions Fall River on casino (The New Bedford Standard-Times 6/2)
City councilors want to see casino referendum on fall ballot (The Fall River Herald News 6/2)
Fall River mayor pushes for casino, bio-park (NBC 10 6/1)