Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) held a ceremony this morning to sign a Class III gaming compact with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. The compact requires the tribe to share 21 percent of revenues with the state. The rate will drop to 17 percent once another casino opens elsewhere in the state and to 15 percent if a non-Indian slot machine parlor opens in southeastern Massachusetts. The tribe won't have to share any revenues at all if a non-Indian casino opens in the southeastern region. That's a plausible scenario since the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has accepted one non-Indian bid for the region. "It's a monumental day, and we're moving forward," Chairman Cedric Cromwell said at the ceremony, State House News Service reported. The compact can now be sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for review. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act gives the agency 45 days to take action. Assuming that the agreement reaches Washington, D.C., in the next few days, a decision could come by the very end of December or in early January 2014. Activity on the tribe's $500 million First Light Resort and Casino has ramped up in recent weeks. The BIA just published notice of the draft environmental impact statement for the project in the Federal Register today. As part of the process, the BIA will hold two public hearings on the draft EIS. The first one takes place on December 2 in Mashpee, the tribe's headquarters, and the second will be held on December 3 in Taunton, where the casino would be located. Get the Story:
Taunton tribal casino compact headed back to Washington (State House News Service 11/15)
Gov. Patrick to sign Mashpee tribe's casino compact today (The Cape Cod Times 11/15) Federal Register Notice:
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Fee-to-Trust Transfer of Property and Subsequent Development of a Resort/Hotel and Tribal Government Facilities by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (November 15, 2013)
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BIA to hold hearings on Mashpee
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