The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is close to a new Class III gaming compact with the state of Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick (D) said on Tuesday.
The two parties have been working on a new deal. Their first compact was rejected because the Bureau of Indian Affairs said the 21.5 percent revenue sharing rate violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. "We're in negotiations, we've got the model, we're trying to work through with the tribe and we have hope, I think it's either by the end of this week or early next week, to be able to go down to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and show them the framework so that we get some preliminary feedback from them," Patrick told members of the media, The Cape Cod Times reported. The new compact will need to be ratified by state lawmakers. Then it can be sent to the BIA for review. Get the Story: