Column: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe wooed on casino

Thursday, March 1, 2007  

"Gov. Deval Patrick may still be mulling the merits of opening the Bay State to casino gambling.

But some local executives are already pushing plans for a Massachusetts casino- this time just a half-hour drive from Boston.

Chris Carney, whose family owns the Raynham-Taunton dog track near Brockton, is extending a very public invitation to the newly recognized Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

Carney told me yesterday he is ready to cut a deal with the tribe - one that would allow it to build a destination resort casino on the 200 acres his family controls around the greyhound track.

And while casino gambling is not currently legal, that shouldn’t stop the tribe. As Patrick and state lawmakers ponder the merits of expanded gambling, the Mashpee Wampanoags could in the meantime build a more limited gambling complex offering those games now allowed under state law, such as video Bingo.

“They could walk onto our site tomorrow and do everything in the state that is now legal,” Carney said. "

Get the Story:
Scott Van Voorhis: Raynham clan eyes casino: Carneys openly wooing Wampanoags (The Boston Herald 2/28)