The Mashpee Wampanoag
Tribe will formally ask Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) to negotiate a Class III gaming compact.
The tribe is still in the land-into-trust process to acquire a casino site. But chairman Shawn Hendricks said the time was right to sit down and talk with the state.
"We'd like to start the negotiations and get the ball rolling," . Hendricks told The Boston Globe. "I see no reason why the state wouldn't sit and talk with us."
Full-scale Class III gaming is not legal in Massachusetts. Patrick has promoted commercial gaming but lawmakers rejected his bill to authorize three casinos.
The tribe submitted its land-into-trust application in August 2007. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is working on an environmental impact statement for the project.
Get the Story:Tribe wants talks on casino (The Boston Globe 9/3)
Tribe asks state to start casino talks (The Cape Cod Times 9/3)