Rival casino opposed by Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe awaits fate

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Artist's rendering of the First Light Resort and Casino in Taunton, Massachusetts. Image from Steelman Partners / Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

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The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is debating whether to approve a commercial casino that's opposed by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

The commission held a final public meeting on the $675 million casino in Brockton on Monday. A decision is expected in late April, The Brockton Enterprise reported.

“This is particularly complicated,” Stephen Crosby, the chairman of the commission, told the paper.

Brockton is less than 20 miles from Taunton, where the tribe plans to open the First Light Resort and Casino. A groundbreaking is expected to take place next week and the first phase could open in the summer of 2017, far ahead of two commercial developments in other regions of the state.

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

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The developer of the Brockton casino is Neil Bluhm, whose net worth was pegged by Forbes at $2.9 billion. He's financing a lawsuit that questions whether the tribe's land-into-trust application was approved lawfully in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

The tribe, though, is not named in the complaint in Littlefield v. Department of the Interior and cannot be sued without its consent due to sovereign immunity. Any court rulings would likely not hinder progress on the casino.

Get the Story:
Talk stops, clock starts on fate of Brockton casino (The Brockton Enterprise 3/29)
Advocates, opponents meet in Brockton over casino (The Boston Globe 3/29)

Federal Register Notices:
Proclaiming Certain Lands as Reservation for the Mashpee Wampanoag (January 8, 2016)
Land Acquisitions; Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (September 25, 2015)
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)
Indian Gaming (February 4, 2014)

Relevant Documents:
Chairman Cedric Cromwell Announcement | Mashpee Wampanoag Trbe Press Release | Bureau of Indian Affairs Press Release | Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn Letter to Chairman Cedric Cromwell | Record of Decision

DOI Solicitor Opinion:
M-37029: The Meaning of "Under Federal Jurisdiction" for Purposes of the Indian Reorganization Act (March 12, 2014)