Litigation | Openings & Closings

Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe sees big future with Class II casino

Friday, July 31, 2015

The clay cliffs in Aquinnah, Massachusetts, the home of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe. Photo by Jens Dahlin / Flickr

The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts is forecasting a strong economy with a Class II facility on its reservation.

The tribe has lived on Martha's Vineyard, an island destination for summer tourism, for tens of thousands of years. Yet the reservation lacks a true economy, Chairman Tobias Vanderoop said in a declaration that was filed in federal court.

"The tribe currently has no economic base of its own," Vanderhoop stated. "It is almost entirely dependent on federal funds to support all governmental operations."

Opening a Class II casino will change that situation, another tribal leader said. The Aquinnah Wampanoag Gaming Corporation anticipates revenues of $4.5 million in the first year, $4.7 million in the second and $4.9 million in the third.

The New England Casino Race: Tribal and commercial gaming facilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island

"AWGC has engaged the services of an established firm to provide a marketing study regarding the viability of a Class II gaming facility on the Tribe’s existing trust lands," Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, the chairwoman of the board for the corporation, stated in a declaration.

Those dreams, however, may never be realized due to litigation in federal court. The state and the town of town of Aquinnah believe the tribe can't pursue gaming because the Massachusetts Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1987 subjects the reservation to state law.

The Interior Department and the National Indian Gaming Commission, on the other hand, believe the tribe can follow the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which became law a year after the settlement act. The federal agencies are not involved in the litigation.

In 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the law subjects the tribe to state jurisdiction. That case, however, did not involve gaming.

Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV is handling the current case. He has not ruled on the merits but has granted a preliminary injunction that requires the tribe to secure a building permit from the town before starting work on the casino.

The tribe wants to convert an unfinished community center into a 6,500-square-foot casino. The facility is located on Black Brook Road in Aquinnah, the tribal headquarters.

Get the Story:
Study Commissioned by Tribe Says Bingo Could Be Big Money (The Vineyard Gazette 7/31)

Federal Register Notice:
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) Liquor Control Ordinance 14-01 (July 21, 2015)

Relevant Documents:
Solicitor Letter to Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe (August 23, 2013)
NIGC Letter to Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe (October 25, 2013)
Press Release: GSB Client Aquinnah Wampanoag to be First to Game in Massachusetts (November 12, 2013)