The legislators and Governor Slot Barns approved this scheme without reviewing the 'application.' Reporters continue to comment on the BIA 'letter' no one has seen. The Malaysian investors continue to finance a Tribe with few assets and no income at usury rates to support a lavish lifestyle that fails to benefit Tribal members. All very interesting!
Check out Reel Wamps and WampaLeaks for additional information.
Mass. gambling panel turning to state’s southeast
By Mark Arsenault
| Globe Staff February 22, 2013The state gambling commission will address the future of casinos in Southeastern Massachusetts in March, seeking to resolve a long-standing question over whether the region should remain off-limits to commercial casino developers while the Mashpee Wampanoag pursue federal approval for a tribal casino in Taunton.
“It is clearly incumbent upon us to decide this issue soon,” Stephen Crosby, the commission’s chairman, said Thursday.
The board’s movement toward a decision is an incremental victory for those who want the region opened to commercial developers and have complained that further delay leaves the southeast lagging behind the state’s other two regions, where commercial casino companies are pitching proposals worth as much as $1 billion.
On Thursday, the commission scheduled a hearing for March 21 in Southeastern Massachusetts to hear from the tribe and others with a direct stake in the future of casino gambling in the region. After that hearing, the commission will assess whether to open the region to commercial developers, possibly with the condition that it would end the bidding if the Mashpee have a breakthrough in their pursuit of a tribal casino.
The state’s 2011 casino law authorized up to three commercial gambling resorts, no more than one in each of three regions of the state.
The law initially excludes commercial developers from the southeast to give the Mashpee Wampanoag a head start in developing a tribal casino under federal law.
The tribe selected a site at the junction of Routes 24 and 140, but faces legal obstacles to converting the land to a reservation eligible for tribal gambling.
Under state law, the commission has the power to license a commercial casino in the southeast if it concludes the tribe will be unable to overcome its legal hurdles.
The commission faces two potentially bad options: The longer it waits, the further the southeast region may fall behind the rest of the state.
However, if the commission allows a commercial casino, it risks someday having two casinos in the southeast, if the Mashpee at some point overcome their legal obstacles.
State Representative Robert Koczera, a New Bedford Democrat, favors opening the region to commercial competitors because the federal law governing the creation of new tribal lands is unsettled.
“There’s too much uncertainty to do otherwise,” he said.
The head start provided to the Mashpee Wampanoag in state law is also being challenged in court by KG Urban Enterprises, a developer interested in building a commercial casino in New Bedford.
Andrew M. Stern, managing director for KG Urban, said Thursday that the firm was “extremely pleased” that the commission is turning its attention to the southeast.
“We hope that this action represents a genuine move to open the southeast region in short order to commercial applicants so that the region can have the opportunity to join the fair and competitive commercial licensing process already underway in the Boston and western regions of the Commonwealth,” he said in a statement.
Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag, maintained that the tribe’s plans are on track and that there is no need for the commission to solicit commercial bids.
He said that the tribe’s application for tribal land recenty cleared an initial hurdle and that the federal government is committed to a speedy review of the full application.
The tribe is also close to completing negotiations with Governor Deval Patrick over the terms by which the casino would operate and what percentage of its revenue would go to the state, he said.
That agreement would replace an earlier deal rejected by the federal government for being too onerous on the tribe.
“When the commission considers these facts, as well as how much farther along we are than any other project, an overwhelming vote from the City of Taunton supporting our plans, and an environmental process that will be completed this spring, we are confident that they will agree that making any change to the Southeastern Massachusetts region is unnecessary,” Cromwell said.
http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/02/22/state-gambling-commission-address-commercial-casino-development-southeastern-mass/eAt8kXRWNCzZoxw2xhdfbI/story.html
Gaming Commission to weigh SE Mass. commercial casino options next month
By Gerry Tuoti
Posted Feb 21, 2013
The future gambling landscape in southeastern Massachusetts could become significantly less clouded in a month.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission decided Thursday to schedule a March 21 meeting at a yet-to-be-named site in southeastern Massachusetts to hear directly from interested parties as it weighs whether to open the region to commercial casino proposals. Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby didn’t rule out the possibility of holding a vote that day on how to proceed in the region, but also didn’t commit to a vote.
“I think inviting people in to speak is a good idea,” Crosby said during Thursday’s meeting in Boston. “For the people involved, this is a pretty high-stakes question.”
The 2011 law that legalized expanded gambling in Massachusetts divides the state into three regions and allows for up to one casino to be licensed in each.
In Region C — which contains Bristol County, Norfolk County, Cape Cod and the Islands — the Gaming Commission will not solicit commercial casino applications unless it determines that it is unlikely for a federally recognized American Indian tribe to meet the requirements for running a tribal casino under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe hopes to build a tribal casino on land in East Taunton.
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said his tribe has made progress toward a casino and sees no reason under the law to open the region to commercial competition.
“We welcome the Gaming Commission coming to southeastern Massachusetts, and we are confident that they will recognize that there is no reason or basis under the Expanded Gaming Act to seek applications for a commercial casino in this region,” Cromwell said in a statement.
Faced with questions over whether the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will approve the tribe’s land application, the state Gaming Commission began discussing late last year whether to open Region C to commercial applicants.
One commercial developer, KG Urban, hopes to build a casino in New Bedford and has a pending federal court case challenging the legality of the section of the Massachusetts law that gives the tribe the first shot at the southeastern casino market.
Some have argued that if the tribe’s pursuit of a casino drags out a long time and ultimately proves fruitless, southeastern Massachusetts would miss out on the economic development the state law was designed to create.
The tribe’s land application to establish an initial reservation is still under consideration at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The Mashpee say they are also in the process of negotiating a new casino compact with the state after the Department of the Interior rejected the compact the two parties agreed to last summer. The federal department ruled the revenue split contained in the compact was too lopsided against the tribe’s interests.
Earlier this month, the Department of the Interior notified the tribe that its land qualifies for the initial reservation exception and that it anticipates soon determining whether it has the authority to take land in trust on the tribe’s behalf.
Cromwell also said the Mashpee will soon have a new compact with Gov. Deval Patrick.
“When the Commission considers these facts, as well as how much farther along we are than any other project, an overwhelming vote from the City of Taunton supporting our plans, and an environmental process that will be completed this spring, we are confident that they will agree that making any change to the Southeastern Massachusetts region is unnecessary,” Cromwell said in a statement.
In other news, the Gaming Commission voted Wednesday to approve a draft enhanced code of ethics.
The draft regulations, among other things, bar Gaming Commission employees from such activities as staying at a casino hotel or wagering at any casino owned by an entity with a Massachusetts gambling license.
The commissioners also voted Wednesday to hire attorney Catherine Blue as the Gaming Commission’s general counsel. Blue is an alumna of Stonehill College and William and Mary Law School. She has previous public and private sector experience.
Read more: http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/x1551252973/Gaming-Commission-to-weigh-SE-Mass-commercial-casino-options-next-month#ixzz2LdCChPEy
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