Local News

Mashpee Indian Tribe Ready For Mass. Casino Deal

BOSTON (WBZ) ― The odds for casino gambling in Massachusetts just got a whole lot better.

WBZ has learned that the Wampanoag Indian tribe of Mashpee is ready to negotiate a casino compact. They're now discussing the ground rules for cutting a deal with the state.

"I think it's wise for us to have some sort of relationship with them," says Senate President Terese Murray, and she says the time is now for that relationship.

While the governor's casino legislation faces a steep up hill battle on Beacon Hill; sources say the state is ready to begin negotiating a separate compact with the tribe.

A deal which would give the state a cut of the Indians' profits at the planned casino in Middleboro.

That casino does not need state approval and is moving forward.

Tribal leaders met with state officials last week, in what now is seen as the first step towards a casino compact with the tribe.

A source with direct knowledge of the meeting told WBZ that the ground rules, the process of negotiating a compact with the Wampanoags was discussed, but that the specifics of what would be in that compact were not.

Many fear that if the state doesn't come up with an agreement with the Wampanoag Tribe they may not get any revenue split from the gaming.

Professor Kevin Washburn of Harvard Law School is an expert on Indian gaming. He says since Massachusetts already has a state lottery and allows special casino nights; any federally recognized tribe can build a casino, with or without state approval.

"The state of Massachusetts has to negotiate with tribes regarding class three gaming. The tribe has a theoretical right to conduct such gaming," says Washburn.

So now many people are betting that a casino deal is already in the works, just not the one the governor had originally planned.

Now, if the governor does negotiate a compact with the Wampanoags, experts studying our state constitution say that compact would probably need to be approved by both the house and senate.

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