Town not sold on Mashpee Wampanoag casino

Tuesday, June 30, 2009  

Residents of a town in Massachusetts turned out by the thousands to vote for a casino deal with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in July 2007.

Two years later, some in Middleboro are beginning to think a casino will never come. They cite the tribe's decision to cancel a deal with investors and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which could negatively affect the tribe's land-into-trust application.

"I have so many hours in the day, and how do I want to spend them? Do I want to spend them going after something that to me looks like a long shot?" selectman Stephen McKinnon said at a recent town meeting, The Cape Cod Times reported.

The tribe plans to negotiate a new deal to proceed with the casino. Tribal leaders also believe they won't be hurt by the Supreme Court decision although they didn't gain federal recognition until May 2007.

Get the Story:
Casino deal loses its luster (The Cape Cod Times 6/29)