The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is "hopeful" for a compromise on a gaming bill in Massachusetts, Chairman Cedric Cromwell said.
The tribe wants to build a casino in the city of Fall River. The plan depends on the legalization of Class III gaming in the state but lawmakers and Gov. Deval Patrick (D) were unable to reach an agreement before the end of the legislative session. "The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe remains hopeful that the governor and the Legislature will be able to find a compromise on expanded gaming," Cromwell said in a statement, The Cape Cod Times reported. "While the debate over expanded gaming has taken place, we have never wavered from our pursuit of the rights afforded to us as a federally recognized tribe, including land in trust as our initial reservation." The passage of a $26 billion jobs bill in the U.S. Congress has revived talk about state lawmakers going back to work on the gaming bill. Get the Story: