This artist's rendering of proposed First Light Resort and Casino has been scrapped now that the tribe has changed architects. Image from Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts has borrowed more than $90 million from its gaming partner, money that must be repaid with 16.5 percent interest, The Cape Cod Times reports. The tribe is working with an affiliate of Genting Group, a Malaysian company that runs the highest-grossing gaming facility in the U.S. in New York City. But the firm's success hasn't been replicated in Massachusetts, where the tribe's $500 million First Light Resort and Casino remains in limbo. "We're spending money and borrowing money chasing a casino dream," council member Carleton Hendricks Jr. told the Times. "Our kids and our kids' kids are going to be stuck paying this back." Hendricks and Laura Etta Miranda, another council member, are holding a meeting this Saturday to discuss the tribe's finances. Get the Story:
Alarms raised on tribal council spending (The Cape Cod Times 10/2) Federal Register Notice:
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Fee-to-Trust Transfer of Property and Subsequent Development of a Resort/Hotel and Ancillary Facilities in the City of Taunton, MA and Tribal Government Facilities in the Town of Mashpee, MA by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (September 5, 2014) Related Stories:
BIA publishes final report on Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe casino bid (09/04)
Join the Conversation
