Lawmakers eye deadline on Mashpee Wampanoag casino bid

Tuesday, November 20, 2012  

Some Massachusetts lawmakers plan to submit legislation to impose a deadline on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe casino.

The tribe met a July 31 deadline to negotiate a Class III gaming compact. But the deal was rejected by the that the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribe still has to clear the land-into-trust process.

The uncertainty has some lawmakers worried that southeastern Massachusetts will be left behind in the gaming race. They are thinking about imposing a deadline sometime in 2013 for the tribe's casino.

"There are three areas in the state and all of them should benefit from the economic development. Our region shouldn't be left out," state Rep. Robert Koczera (D) told The New Bedford Standard-Times.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has said it will give the tribe plenty of time before opening the casino in southeastern Massachusetts, otherwise known as Region C in H.3702, the state's gaming law, to commercial bidders.

Get the Story:
Legislators hope to limit tribe's casino advantage (The New Bedford Standard-Times 11/20)

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe works on new Class III compact (11/19)