The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut is jumping back into the Massachusetts commercial casino race.
The tribe will announce plans today for a $750 million casino in Fall River, in the southeastern part of the state. A site hasn't been chosen but city's mayor is embracing the project as a means to boost the economy. "Tomorrow in partnership with @FoxwoodsCT we will announce a $750 million casino project creating 3-5k jobs," Mayor Will Flanagan said on Twitter. The announcement will put the Pequots at odds with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, whose $500 million First Light Resort and Casino was given a first shot at the region. H.3702, the Massachusetts Expanded Gaming Act, reserved the area's casino for a "federally recognized tribe." But with the Mashpee project facing uncertainty at the federal level, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission opened the region to non-Indian bidders. Only one firm, K.G. Urban Enterprises, filed an application. The Pequots previously tried for a commercial casino in the eastern region of the state. But voters in the town of Milford rejected the project in a referendum last November. Get the Story: