The traditional chief of the Mashpee Wampanoag
Tribe of Massachusetts is worried what gaming might do to his people.
Vernon “Silent Drum” Lopez, 92, supports the $500 million First
Light Resort and Casino. But he worries about the tribe's debt and wonder if gaming will become corrupting.
“If they handle it right, I think it might be good for the tribe,” Lopez, a World War II veteran, told the Associated Press. “Of course, it’s going to take a long time before they can show a profit on it.”
The tribe's land-into-trust application remains under consideration at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Get the Story:
Wampanoag Chief Has Mixed Feelings On Casino Bid
(AP 7/20)
An Opinion:
Joan Vennochi: Casinos are Massachusetts’ future — or region’s past?
(The Boston Globe 7/20)
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Tribes outspent in lobbying race over
casinos in Massachusetts (7/15)
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Tribe still waiting on casino land ruling (06/13)