For gambling addicts, Super Bowl wagers could bring ruin

What are the odds gambling is popular for Super Bowl?

Wayne T. Price, Ilana Kowarski and Dave Berman 12:10 a.m. EST January 31, 2015

We all know what Sunday is — it’s Super Bowl Sunday, the day for one of the most-watched sporting events in the world.

For hardcore wagerers, as well as the casual “You wanna bet” types, Sunday also is known as the Super Bowl of gambling. The website superbowlbets.com predicts more than 200 million people will bet on the game, part of an estimated about $10 billion Super Bowl betting industry in the United States.

“The Super Bowl is fun to bet on simply because it is such a cultural event these days,” said Jimmy Boyd, who runs the Walnut, California-headquartered BoydsBets.com. “Trying to win a few extra bucks is always fun, but when you can combine it with something that virtually everyone you know is going to be watching, it really amplifies the enjoyment.”

For Brevard County, and all of Florida, sports betting is illegal, though still very common.

There are straight-up bets between individuals and organized office pools where managers often turn a blind eye to the activity. At many gatherings tonight, party goers will pick a Super Bowl square for a small cash payout. And of course, there’s also betting through online gambling sites.

Sports gambling is growing so large that last month the U.S. Treasury Department threw a warning flag at casinos.

“Increases in sports betting conducted on behalf of third parties are facilitating criminal activity and posing a money laundering risk to the U.S financial system,” Treasury said in a letter on Dec. 24.

Because of the popularity of the Super Bowl, and sports betting, FLORIDA TODAY took a look at what’s happening with this issue on the Space Coast.

Victory Casino

There is only one place to gamble — legally — on the Super Bowl in Brevard County and that’s on the Victory Casino Cruise ship. Even then, you have to be international waters to make your bet and collect your winnings.

Passengers already have been laying plenty of action .

“The betting is happening on every cruise” for the past two weeks said Pete Lynch, the casino marketing manager at Victory Casino Cruises, Lynch said.

And the betting isn’t just on who will win the game. Gamblers can bet on dozens of things related to the game — even which team wins the coin toss before the game starts and how long it will take Idina Menzel to sing the national anthem.

Naturally, all the ship’s televisions will be tuned into the game — 20 screens in the ship’s sports book area and 10 at other locations.

Some additions:

•A Super Bowl “tailgate” party with burgers, chicken wings and nachos.
•Cocktail servers and card dealers in referee-striped outfits.
•At least five former National Football League players mingling with the customers. Lynch said some of them have played in previous Super Bowls.

“It’s going to be a fun day,” Lynch said.

It costs $10 to get on the ship. Sunday cruises are noon to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight.

Drinks are free for customers actively betting in the slot machine or table game areas. But if you’re just there to watch the game, be prepared to buy your own beers.

Sports bars and office pools

The beers and cocktails will be flowing at Duffy’s Sports Grill in Melbourne, where a full house is expected. Duffy’s has been selling tickets for $25 each for guaranteed seating.

While you can expect wings galore and loud cheering, don’t expect to see any gambling. And if anyone at Duffy’s is seen wagering, they can expect a swift reprimand.

“Frankly I’ve never come across that,” said Renee Masse, assistant general manager at Duffy’s. “If we saw something like that taking place, we’d tell them to stop and go some place else.”

Though there are probably informal office pools in Brevard, there are few employers that sanction them. Many strongly discourage any kind of gambling in a work setting.

In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, it is common for human resources departments to send out warnings to workers telling them not to make sports bets on office property, said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray, & Christmas, Inc., a national employment consultancy based in Chicago.

Challenger said betting in the workplace is a risky move, since it can result in a formal reprimand or termination.

“In the banking industry or the financial sector, in particular, gambling is counter to the culture,” he said. “Those are companies that make their name by keeping people’s money safe and making wise investments, which is the complete opposite of gambling.”

Arguments against gambling laws

Some in Brevard say that gambling in moderation is harmless, and believe that Florida’s laws against sports betting are hypocritical, given that there is an official state lottery.

That’s the view of Jamie Nance, an attorney for Nance Cacciatore law firm in Melbourne.

“I imagine that there is a vocal minority that opposes gambling for moralistic or religious reasons, but look, man has been gambling since the dawn of time,” Nance said. “It’s probably one of the world’s oldest professions.”

Nance said given strained government resources it seems unwise for law enforcement to spend money on the incarceration of gamblers and bookies “for relatively victimless vices.” If any punishment was warranted, it should be a small fine.

“There supposedly is a big libertarian movement in this country, but for some reason with the libertarians I know, their philosophy stops with gambling and prostitution,” Nance said. “Even if you disapprove of those activities, regulating them is still a government intrusion.”

Enforcement

State gambling statutes say sports betting is a second-degree misdemeanor. Those convicted can get up to 60 days of prison time and a maximum fine of $500.

There are stiffer penalties for “bookies,” a person who accepts bets based on set odds..

Bookmaking is a third-degree felony for first-time offenders and a second-degree felony for repeat offenders. A bookie’s first conviction can lead to a five-year prson sentence and $5,000 pine. The penalties escalate for repeat offenders. Those who are twice convicted of bookmaking can get a 15-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine.

Bill Respess, the chief trial attorney in Brevard, said that law enforcement rarely prosecutes individual bettors and primarily focuses its energy on “the people that are making money off the operation.”

In the past, Brevard has prosecuted operators of internet gambling cafes, but gambling prosecutions are rare, Respess said.

“I don’t see us spending a lot of time enforcing the gambling law to prevent Super Bowl bets between friends, but that doesn’t mean it’s legal,” he said. “There are lots of things that go on that are illegal. I hear fireworks go off around the holidays all the time. When people are caught breaking the laws, we enforce them.”

Addiction

Arnie Wexler, a self-described former compulsive gambler who operates a national hotline for gambling addicts, said that the Super Bowl is the time of year when temptations for gambling addicts are the most prevalent and intense.

“The Super Bowl is a hotbed for gambling. Compulsive gambling is an all-year kind of thing, but what happens is that the Super Bowl is the last game for gamblers to bet on in the football season,” he said. “With compulsive gamblers, if they’ve won money before, they’re putting it all on the line right now, and if they’ve lost money, they’re trying to get it back during the Super Bowl. It’s the get-out bet for a gambler.”

Wexler said that every year after the Super Bowl, he gets inundated with desperate phone calls to his hotline, 1-800-LAST-BET. In his new book, “All Bets Are Off,” he shares how he recovered from a gambling addiction and describes how others can do the same.

“Nobody really cares about gambling addicts. They look at alcoholics and drug addicts as sick people, but they see compulsive gamblers as crooks,” he said. “The motive of my book is to get people to understand that compulsive gambling is an addiction, and it’s treatable.”

Contact Price at 321-242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Fla2dayBiz.


Giving props

A big part of Super Bowl gambling is proposition, or “rop” betting, wagering on aspects of the game other than the outcome of the score. Examples:
Will the winning coin toss land on heads or tails?
Will the performer singing the National Anthem remember the words?
Which player will score the first touchdown?
Which team will score first?
Which team will score last?
Will the first score of the game be a field goal or touchdown?
How many songs will the half-time performer sing?
Which team will have the most penalty yards?
Which quarterback will have the most passing yards?
Who will be named Super Bowl MVP?
Source: American Gaming Association, Indianapolis Star research



http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2015/01/31/odds-gambling-popular-super-bowl/22601763/



VIDEO ON LINK:

Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

For gambling addicts, Super Bowl wagers could bring ruin

Posted: Jan 31, 2015

By Ben Gutierrez

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

Super Bowl XLIX is coming up on Sunday. It's the world's biggest sports spectacle, and also the event with the heaviest bets. Legal betting will rake in over $100 million this year, but that's dwarfed by illegal betting, which may total $3.7 billion.

So for problem gamblers, the Super Bowl may be a the last chance for a big win. A loss could be especially catastrophic.

Think you're a big roller?

"I lost a hundred thousand dollars on one bet," said a man we're calling Al. He's the head of Gamblers Anonymous in Hawaii. He lost the 100 grand rolling dice.

"I had 4, and I did not make the 4. I threw a 7," he said. "And it's the worst feeling of your life. But if you make the 4, it's the best feeling of your life."

Al said he even had to ask his relatives for about a quarter of a million dollars to pay gambling debts.

"During my 16 or 17 years gambling compulsively, we estimate that I lost over two million dollars."

According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, 10,000 people in Hawaii are pathological gamblers, those whose wagering has a severe negative effect of his or her job, relationships or mental health. Another 20,000 are problem gamblers, who wager despite possible negative consequences.

The Washington, D.C., group said last year, it received 2,759 calls for help from Hawaii because there are no local hotlines for gambling addiction. And since legal gambling doesn't exist in Hawaii, there's no public funding for treatment and prevention. Those programs could be useful on Monday, as Al expects hardcore gamblers to go big on Super Sunday.

"Football season is ending. The Super Bowl is the wrap up of this. So people are running out of games to bet on, and they can't recover all their losses and they can't bet enough to recover their season."

"I wouldn't be surprised if there were an increased number of people calling G.A. (Gamblers Anonymous) after the Super Bowl," said Dr. Robin-Marie Shepherd, a University of Auckland professor who has done research on gambling in Hawaii. "That would be interesting to find out if that's the case."

Meanwhile, Al is glad to have kicked the addiction:

"The two most important things in my life was my children and my wife, and I was willing to give that away to continue to gamble."

For help in Hawaii, Gamblers Anonymous has help here.

 

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/27990718/for-gambling-addicts-super-bowl-wagers-could-bring-ruin

 

Former gambling addict talks about desperate days around Superbowl

Posted: Jan 30, 2015 10:53 PM EST


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -
Super Bowl weekend is not just the climax of the football season -- it is the biggest weekend of the year for legal and illegal gambling.

Only social betting is legal in Hawaii, but the state still has its share of desperate gamblers according to the leader of Hawaii's only chapter of Gamblers Anonymous.

"Football season is ending the Superbowl is the wrap-up of this, so people are running out of games to bet on."

Speaking under the pseudonym "Al" the chapter leader said the festive weekend is a frightening time for many players.

"They can't recover all their loses and they can't bet enough to recover their season. So we are getting a lot of phone calls from people asking about how to stop."

Al says recovery is similar to recovery from a drug addiction and can take years. He himself took nine years and multiple lapses before he gave up betting completely 21 years ago. National experts say Hawaii does not have the enough resources to prevent chronic gambling or help wean gamblers of the addiction, primarily because of the assumption that gambling addictions would not be as common in a state with no legal gaming.

Click HERE for more information on how to get help in Hawaii.


http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/27990206/former-gambling-addict-talks-about-desperate-days-around-superbowl

There can never be any land in trust in the original 13 colonies

CAROL KELLEY, Plymouth: Senate should vote against casino compact

EDITOR’S NOTE: Gov. Deval Patrick has signed a casino compact with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, but before the tribe can build its proposed $500 million casino in Taunton, it needs to obtain U.S. Department of the Interior approval of a land-into-trust agreement.

There can never be any land in trust in the original 13 colonies because of the following court decisions:

The “property clause” of the United States Constitution (Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2),which concerns itself with federal territorial lands owned by the United States, has never applied in Massachusetts. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled on this. In a case known as Fletcher v. Peck, the court upheld the pre-emptive right of the original 13 colonies over their state land. There is no federal public domain land or federal reservation currently in the commonwealth, there never has been, nor can any be created since 25 USC. 465 with regulation 25 C.F.R. 151.9 only applies to other federal public domain lands that may be added to federal Indian reservations for the use of an Indian tribe which was recognized in 1934. No tribes in the 13 states were ever under federal jurisdiction or living on federal reserved land.

Alaska v. U.S. (2005): The federal government cannot establish reservation land without reserved rights. There is no federally owned land in any of the original 13 colonies. We entered the union with all of the land under state jurisdiction.

Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs: Once land is transferred to state jurisdiction it is not eligible to be taken into federal jurisdiction. Feds can’t take land and give it to an Indian tribe.

Carcieri v. Salazar: No land in trust can be given to Indian tribes unless they were under federal jurisdiction in 1934. Lists of tribes that were recognized are available and were presented to the Supreme Court in Carcieri. They do not include the Mashpee Wampanoag.

Oneida Indian Nation v. Oneida County, New York, and United States v. New York: Upheld the U.S. Court of Appeals, which said that granting the Oneida Indian Nation’s land claims would be too disruptive to the state, local government and current owners of the land.

Land claims are dead, yet Gov. Deval Patrick put it in the compact. This is illegal according to federal law and would be too disruptive to the town of Mashpee.

  

Carol Kelley lives in Plymouth.

Speak Outs can be up to 400 words. They should be about issues of broad appeal. Please submit articles to: Commentary Page, The Patriot Ledger, P.O. Box 699159, Quincy 02269-9159 or by e-mail to editpage@ledger.com.

Read more: http://www.patriotledger.com/letters/x181547024/CAROL-KELLEY-Plymouth-Senate-should-vote-against-casino-compact#ixzz22EI9Sdca

Gambling Addiction Sucks in Another Law-Abiding Citizen

Postal union treasurer says gambling habit forced him to steal $80K in union funds
Jun 01, 2012

By Keoki Kerr

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The treasurer of the Honolulu branch of the letter carriers union pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to embezzling more than $80,000 from the union to feed his gambling habit.

David M. Ing, 46, has been the treasurer of branch 860 of the National Association of Letter Carriers for about 14 years. He works as a mailman out of a Sand Island postal facility.

He appeared in federal court Thursday afternoon to plead guilty to stealing $83,293 in union funds.

"Because of a gambling problem, I forged checks and stole money from the union treasury," Ing told Federal Judge Kevin Chang.

According to a federal charging document filed Friday afternoon, Ing stole the union funds from January through December of 2011.

Ing's attorney, Reginald Minn, said his client has paid more than $79,000 of the money back to the union.

Ing and Minn declined an interview outside the federal courtroom Thursday afternoon.

Ing is the treasurer for branch 860 of the union that represents 700 letter carriers who work in zip codes starting with 968, covering Hawaii Kai through Honolulu Airport. The mail carriers represented by that branch of the union also deliver mail in Ewa Beach, Kaneohe, Waimanalo, Haleiwa and Laie.

As treasurer, Ing oversaw the union's annual spending of $227,703 in the year ending July 1, 2011, according to paperwork filed with the U.S. Labor Department.

The union reported Ing earned $11,127 for his union treasurer position.

The federal labor department sent Ing a letter in 2008, finding several union record keeping violations.

An audit by U.S. Labor Department investigators found inadequate documentation of $3,517 in union reimbursements for purchases at the Pearl Harbor naval exchange, along with train trips on Amtrak and hotel stays at Circus Circus hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

The audit also discovered the letter carriers union failed to submit itemized receipts for 14 restaurant charges paid for with union funds worth $3,789.

When he is sentenced Sept. 17, Ing could face a maximum 10 years in federal prison.

But he'll most likely get a much lesser sentence, since he doesn't have a criminal record, he pleaded guilty and paid back almost all the money he stole.

Ing has told friends he has a gambling addiction, according to a friend familiar with the case who asked not to be identified.

"He acknowledged what he did and he made full restitution. Now he's dealing with the consequences of his actions," the friend said.

The union's quarterly audits failed to catch the improper payments and forgeries that continued from Jan. to Dec. of 2011, a source said. A local bank noticed a high amount of money going from the union's account to the same person and notified union officials of late last fall, triggering the investigation, a source said.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/18672669/postal-union-treasurer-says-gambling-habit-forced-him-to-steal-80k-in-union-funds

Taunton casino vote is not binding

Someone's been handing around the Casino KoolAid without doing their homework!

There's the little matter of 2 SCOTUS decisions, Carcieri v Salazar and Hawaii.

And: Governing Aquinnah Settlement Agreement:INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT ON COOPERATIVE LAND ...An Aquinnah Planning Advisory Board (hereinafter referred to as the ... with, and be governed by, the provisions of the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. ... on the date of the 1983 Settlement Agreement, and any amendments to such ...aquinnah-ma.gov/documents/Intergovernmental_Agreement.doc - Similar


The legislation is linked here:http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/subject/about/gambling.html


How come it always seems that elected officials blindly follow without asking the important questions like 'what will this cost my community?'

Taunton casino vote is not binding
THIS STORY APPEARED IN the Boston Globe
April 09, 2012By Mark Arsenault

Taunton residents will vote in early June on development plans for a Mashpee Wampanoag tribal casino that could forever change their city. But what many residents do not realize is that even if a majority were to vote against the casino, it could still be built.

In Taunton, where the Mashpee are proposing a tribal casino on what would be sovereign Indian land, the June 9 referendum is a nonbinding measure of public opinion. That is in contrast to communities such as East Boston, Palmer, and Springfield, where commercial casinos have been proposed but cannot go forward without approval by voters.

Taunton resident and casino opponent Frank Lagace said local officials and casino proponents should make it clear the results are not legally binding. “My goal had been to defeat this thing at referendum,’’ he said. “If the vote is a red herring, why even have it?’’

As legislators drafted the casino bill in 2011, a key consideration was ensuring that communities would not have a casino imposed on them. The final legislation authorizes up to three gambling resorts and one slot parlor, with a presumption that one of the casinos would be developed by a tribe under federal law.

The law requires that all commercial proposals receive local approval, and mandates that any tribe seeking a casino must schedule a referendum as a condition of entering negotiations with the governor.

But state legislators were unable to put the force of law behind the referendum because tribal casinos - unlike those run by commercial developers - are outside their jurisdiction. Tribal gambling is governed by a federal law, the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which extends significant rights to tribes to host gambling on Indian land.

Other than mandating a vote be scheduled, the 50-page Massachusetts casino act never again mentions the requirement for tribes and does not say what happens if the vote fails.

The Mashpee, who received federal recognition in 2007, hold an option to buy land in Taunton near the junction of routes 24 and 140. The tribe has asked the US secretary of the interior to put the land into federal trust on its behalf, which would remove the parcel from local tax rolls and essentially convert it to Indian land.

Getting land into trust is expected to be a long and difficult road for the tribe - a process that could take years and require an act of Congress.

A nonbinding vote by Taunton residents could eventually be taken into account in the federal process, but local officials and communities do not have a veto, said Kathryn Rand, codirector of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at the University of North Dakota.

(Page 2 of 2)

“Their input is going to be taken seriously by the secretary in the land-in-trust process, but the statute is intended to be sure that federally recognized tribes have access to gaming as a tool for economic development where appropriate,’’ said Rand.

Tribes have enjoyed wide success developing casinos on sovereign land. The National Indian Gaming Commission currently regulates 462 gambling facilities, either casinos or high-stakes bingo halls, on tribal lands in the United States, according to the commission.

But though lacking in legal authority, the June referendum could have important political effects.

The tribe will fight hard to win the vote to avoid a public relations setback that could discourage state and local officials from cooperating with the casino project. The tribe has said it wants to build where it is welcome.

“This process includes a referendum for voters to have a say on whether our destination resort and the jobs and revenue it will bring are right for Taunton’s future, and we think this step is an important one,’’ the tribe’s chairman, Cedric Cromwell, said in a statement. He did not address whether the tribe would voluntarily give up its dreams of a Taunton casino if it loses the nonbinding vote.

Taunton’s mayor, Thomas Hoye, said the tribe “could proceed [despite a negative vote] but as a practical matter I don’t think it would be in their best interest to do so.’’

A failed vote could also be a headache for Governor Deval Patrick, who is negotiating with the Mashpee over the operating terms for a casino in Taunton. A negotiated agreement, known in law as a compact, is a key step along the federal approval process. Compacts generally spell out how tribal casinos are regulated and what portion of their revenue, if any, goes to the state.

The governor has been outspoken in support of local voter control over casino development. Should Taunton’s nonbinding vote fail in June, it could be politically difficult for him to continue negotiations.

“We’re taking this one step at a time,’’ said Patrick spokesman Brendan Ryan. “If the town were to vote against it, we’d have to reevaluate.’’

States must negotiate in good faith when a federally recognized tribe wants to open a casino on Indian land, but court rulings on tribal gambling suggest the state can put off negotiations until the tribe successfully has land taken into trust, according to Rand.

Patrick apparently would have the right to end negotiations if the Taunton vote fails, with the understanding that talks would resume if the tribe gets the land into trust.

Such an end to compact negotiations would have significant ramifications for the state gambling commission and for the casino market in Massachusetts.

State law requires the commission to solicit bids for a commercial casino in Southeastern Massachusetts by the end of October if the tribe’s compact is not completed by July 31.

The commission’s chairman, Stephen Crosby, has said an October deadline would be hard to meet.

If the commission then goes ahead and approves a commercial casino in the southeast, the tribe could still exercise its federal rights if it gets land into trust. The southeast region would then have two casinos.

“It would be unimaginable that this newly federally recognized tribe will never get land,’’ said Rand. “They’re going to be assigned land sooner or later.’’

Votes planned in Freetown and Lakeville on casino proposals by another tribe, the Wampanoag of Aquinnah, are similarly nonbinding. The Aquinnah’s legal right to pursue tribal gambling is also in dispute, due to a 1980s land settlement that state officials have long said subjects their land to state law.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Pipe Dream in San Diego

Wampanoag leaders in San Diego to chart future
By George Brennan
April 03, 2012

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Getting land into federal trust remains one of the key hurdles for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's pursuit of an Indian casino, but legal experts say it's far from insurmountable.

The National Indian Gaming Association is hosting its annual convention and trade show in San Diego through Wednesday.

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell, Treasurer Mark Harding and several members of the tribe's legal team are attending the conference, which features workshops in all aspects of Indian casinos, from intergovernmental agreements to what types of betting to offer.

In the lobby of the San Diego Convention Center, Cromwell exchanged well-wishes from other tribal leaders from across the country and was interrupted several times by business card-toting men and women interested in doing business with the tribe.

Despite the tribe's tight deadline of July 31 to negotiate a compact with Massachusetts for an Indian casino, Cromwell said it's important to keep up with what's happening in the Indian casino industry and that's why he's here.

"You're going to get all the latest and greatest information here," Cromwell said. "You're going to meet the people with the Department of the Interior that are working on (regulations) and policies, so you're getting all the information firsthand, so it's important to be here."



Land into trust
Cromwell and Harding attended a session on the process for getting land into trust and what some of the legal impediments are to that process — chief among them the 2009 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court known as Carcieri v. Salazar.

In that ruling, the court questioned the Interior Department's authority to take land into trust for the Narragansett Tribe in Rhode Island because the tribe's federal recognition came after the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. That ruling stalled land-into-trust applications for other tribes, which now have to undergo a "Carcieri analysis," a Bureau of Indian Affairs official said during the workshop.

But while Carcieri can be used to delay a project like the Mashpee tribe's plans for a casino in Taunton, it's not likely to block it completely based on comments by legal experts during the session.

Though she never mentioned the Mashpee Wampanoag specifically, Judith Shapiro, an attorney for the tribe and a speaker during the session, said opponents to Indian casinos latched on to the Carcieri decision to slow the process down, but decisions by the federal government offer tribes hope.

The Interior Department has taken land into trust for the Cowlitz Tribe in Washington state since the high court decision, she said. That trust land is tied up in legal challenges, but ultimately Shapiro believes the courts will find federally recognized tribes had relationships with the federal government before 1934.

In the case of the Narragansett tribe, she said, the tribe conceded they had never been under federal jurisdiction.

What this means for the Mashpee tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), which is pursuing an Indian casino in Freetown, Lakeville or Fall River, is that if they can meet other elements of their July 31 deadline imposed by the state, they will be able to demonstrate through legal opinions that land into trust remains a real possibility.

If the state gaming commission were to determine otherwise, the Southeastern Massachusetts casino license would be put out to competitive bid.

The Aquinnah tribe is not represented at the convention, but a law firm representing it is in San Diego, spokesman James McManus said in an email.



The Carcieri fix [Ignoring the Hawaii SCOTUS decision!]
Meanwhile, Loretta Tuell, chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Daniel Kahikina Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said his office continues to push for congressional action, a so-called "Carcieri fix" and has undertaken a study to show the ramifications the court ruling is having on tribes not just in economic development, but housing, education and health care.

Tuell, a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, said: "We need to learn how to message the issue. Land is fundamental to who we are as people."

There can't be two classes of tribes — some blessed with land and others without, Tuell said.

Cromwell liked what he heard during the land-into-trust session. "It's rewarding and fulfilling to hear what we've always known," Cromwell said. Tribes need land to practice self-determination and self-governance and the Mashpee tribe is seeking to put land into trust in Mashpee and Taunton [and Middleboro and Fall River and...the endless list, even though only Mashpee was listed on the application for recognition] as an initial reservation, he said.

"It's not just about gaming," Cromwell said. "It's about land."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beacon Hill: Duh?

When even the not-so-bright Governor of Rhode Island calls for maybe a not so Independent Cost Benefit Analysis, where's Beacon Hill?

Still mired in back room deals?

Only the Casino KoolAid consumers seem to have ignored Hawaii:

What could be more simple? :

Within weeks of the 8-1 Carcieri v Salazar
decision, a second strike on
fee to trust was issued. This time it came from a case
originating in the state of Hawaii.
In the 9-0 decision on Hawaii v. the Office of
Hawaiian Affairs. Justice Alito wrote, "It would
raise grave constitutional concerns" Congress sought
to "cloud Hawaii's title to its
sovereign lands" after it had joined the
Union.
"We have emphasized that Congress cannot,
after statehood reserve or convey....lands that
have already been bestowed upon a state".
How many readers of this paper
could be effected by issues concerning
land that has been "bestowed upon
a state"; as an original colony, through
disestablished territory or
when the territory entered into
statehood?

Hawaii: Crime and Corruption

HPD Major indicted on federal felony corruption charges
Reported by: Marisa Yamane

A high-ranking member of the Honolulu Police Department has been indicted on felony corruption charges.

According to the FBI, the charges stem from Major Carlton Nishimura's alleged involvement with illegal game rooms.

The alleged crimes date back to 2004, when Nishimura was a Captain in the Chinatown and Downtown areas.

Federal agents believe Nishimura was getting paid for tips on upcoming raids.

Honolulu Police Department Major Carlton Nishimura turned himself in to federal authorities this morning.

Yesterday, a federal grand jury indicted the 55-year old Waianae resident on charges of extortion, attempting to tamper with a witness, and making false statements.

"I really feel it is disappointing we have someone this high up involved," said Chu Lan Shubert-Kwock, Chinatown Business and Community Association.

Nishimura has been with HPD for 30 years.

"He has so many years in a our community so we all look up to him," said Shubert-Kwock.

Nishimura is accused of giving an illegal game room operator inside information in exchange for money, from April 2004 to March 2006.

He was a Captain in the Department during those years, assigned to District 1, which covers Chinatown and Downtown.

"It is still an indictment, an alleged, so we can't run to the conclusion that he's guilty but we do know that there have always been rumors and whispering that gambling places are protected because they never go away and keep moving or avoid raids and always reappear," said Shubert-Kwock.

Most recently, Nishimura was assigned to the Legislative Liaison Office -- lobbying for bills on behalf of HPD.

"I have found him to be a very honorable, respectable police officer. It is shocking to see this type of announcement," said Sen. Will Espero, (D) Senate Public Safety Chair.

"He used to come into hearings and was always pleasant very trustworthy so when something like this happens. It's really sad," said Honolulu City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi.

Nishimura is also accused of lying to FBI agents, and trying to persuade a witness to lie as well in connection with the investigation.

This afternoon, Nishimura made his initial appearance in federal court.

He pleaded not guilty and was released on $50,000 bail.

Nishimura's police powers are now restricted

His trial is scheduled to start on April 19th.

Middleboro: Are you watching?

The Town of Middleboro has an Agreement with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. Wealthy investors own the property on which the IGA (InterGovernmental Agreement) is based and no funds have been paid. It's time for the Town of Middleboro to take action to foreclose on the property.

Although the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has Pipe Dreams of Slot Barns in Mashpee, Middleboro and Fall River, the Hawaii decision preempts it.

What could be more simple? :

Within weeks of the 8-1 Carcieri v Salazar
decision, a second strike on fee to trust was
issued. This time it came from a case
originating in the state of
Hawaii.
In the 9-0 decision on Hawaii v. the Office of
Hawaiian Affairs. Justice Alito wrote, "It would
raise grave
constitutional concerns"
Congress sought to "cloud Hawaii's title to its
sovereign lands" after it had joined the
Union.
"We have emphasized that Congress cannot,
after statehood reserve or convey....lands that
have already been bestowed upon a state".
How many readers of this paper could
be effected by issues concerning
land that has been "bestowed upon a state";
as an original colony, through disestablished
territory or when the territory entered into
statehood?

The Oneida Tribe knew they were going to lose with SCOTUS because they had previously lost and took the actions they did.

It's also time for Beacon Hill leaders to take note.



Impact of Oneidas case stretches beyond region
Other tribes, states monitoring issue as it moves back to lower court

State governments and Indian tribes across the country were watching this week when the U.S. Supreme Court tossed a case about foreclosure on Oneida Indian Nation land back down to a lower court.

Over the past six years, as the case wended its way through the court system, Indian tribes feared if the Oneidas lost, it could diminish all their standings under the law.

And governments of at least 12 states that have tribes within their borders worried that if the Oneidas won, Indian nations could evade property tax collection.

Now that the Supreme Court has booted the case back to the 2nd U.S. District Court of Appeals, the states will have to wait for resolution, but Indian tribes have been granted a reprieve, a Washington D.C.-based advocate for Indian tribes said.

“You never know what the Supreme Court is going to do,” said John Dossett, general council for the National Congress of American Indians. “It could have really hurt them.”

The suit was initiated soon after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling that the Nation had to pay property tax on its non-reservation land.

After that decision, Oneida and Madison counties immediately moved to foreclose on the Oneida’s non-reservation land, since property taxes had not been paid on it in years. The Nation refused, and the issue has been under litigation ever since.

At the heart of the case — Madison County and Oneida County vs. Oneida Indian Nation of New York — is the issue of sovereign immunity for Indian tribes.

Among the Oneidas’ arguments was that the Nation was exempt from foreclosure because of its sovereign immunity.

Dossett said if the Supreme Court had ruled against the Oneidas, it could have further chipped away at the standing of tribes as independent governmental entities.

“It’s like a death by a thousand cuts,” Dossett said. “Over long spans of time, the Supreme Court just seems to find against tribes on a regular basis.”

One expert on Indian issues, Robert Batson of Albany Law School, said if the court had ruled against the Oneidas and had expressed its decision in broad terms, it could have caused “quite a change.”

“They would basically be like a corporation, not a government, subject to any suit in court,” he said of the Indian nations.

Other Indian nations contacted by the Observer-Dispatch did not return calls Tuesday.

Pressure?

Asked if the National Congress of American Indians had put pressure on the Oneidas to back away from the immunity argument, Dossett demurred.

“It wasn’t really pressure,” he said. “We talked about it quite a bit. I don’t know that tribes have the tools to put pressure on one another.”

Dossett said that in his view, recent Supreme Court rulings on Indian issues had not been favorable to the tribes.

Pressure or no, the Oneida Nation issued a declaration in late November “irrevocably and perpetually” waiving its immunity from foreclosures by state, local and county governments.

The Oneidas’ attorney, Washington D.C.-based Seth Waxman, said removing the foreclosure issue from the case eliminated the possibility that the court could alter sovereign immunity laws, but that wasn’t the reason for the declaration.

“If the issue of sovereign immunity were litigated, we think we would win,” he said.

But, he added, the case could be argued on other grounds that had not reached the Supreme Court and could now be litigated in lower court.

Broader impact

Several states will be watching to see how the case proceeds.

New York and 11 other states have filed a brief with the courts contending that blocking the counties from foreclosing on the property “imperils real property tax collection throughout the United States because it permits Indian tribes nationwide to escape enforcement of lawfully imposed real property taxes.”

David Schraver, the attorney representing Oneida and Madison counties, said the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case would delay resolution of that issue.

“There won’t be a decision in the short term by the Supreme Court,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Nation has been attempting to have its non-reservation property put into federal trust, free of state and local taxation and regulation.

The state and counties are fighting that plan in the courts as well, but they have yet to reach the level of the Supreme Court.

Larry Echo Hawk: Ignoring Hawaii

Ignoring the Hawaii decision, simply pretending it doesn't exist, Larry Echo Hawk waved a magic wand and pronounced trust land. SCOTUS apparently doesn't apply to the BIA.

It couldn't be more clear:

Within weeks of the 8-1 Carcieri v Salazar decision, a second
strike on fee to trust was issued. This time it came from a case
originating in the state of Hawaii. In the 9-0 decision on Hawaii
v. the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Justice Alito wrote, "It would
raise grave constitutional concerns" Congress sought to "cloud
Hawaii's title to its sovereign lands" after it had joined the
Union. "We have emphasized that Congress cannot, after
statehood reserve or convey....lands that have already been
bestowed upon a state". How many readers of this paper could
be effected by issues concerning land that has been "bestowed
upon a state"; as an original colony, through disestablished
territory or when the territory entered into statehood?


Document sheds light on casino approvalFeds predict complex will employ 3,151 at $28,000 average pay

The Record of Decision issued by Assistant Secretary of Bureau of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk addresses wide-ranging concerns raised by groups opposing the Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s request to establish a reservation and $510 million casino-hotel complex in Clark County. [with an insolvent partner, Mohegan Sun]

When Echo Hawk announced Dec. 23 he had approved the request, the news came in a two-page press release.

The 118-page Record of Decision, obtained Thursday by The Columbian, sheds light on the steps the BIA went through in evaluating the proposal and considering the claims made by the opposition.

Those claims ranged from environmental and infrastructure concerns to opposition from Oregon’s Grand Ronde Tribe, which operates Spirit Mountain Casino and draws players from the Vancouver-Portland area.

Echo Hawk’s decision includes projections on how many jobs would be created by the Cowlitz project.

The projection includes approximately 4,011 jobs over the entire construction period, with an average annual wage of $46,200. At completion, the hotel and casino is projected to have 3,151 employees with an average wage of $28,000. [grossly overstated]

Approximately 90 percent of the employees are expected to live in Clark and Cowlitz counties, according to the decision.

There remains plenty of questions about the project, including the potential for legal challenges and when financing could be secured. The Connecticut-based Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which has partnered with developer and tribal member David Barnett, reported $2 billion in total debt in its year-end filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Barnett did not return a call Thursday seeking comment.

William Iyall, chairman of the Cowlitz Tribe, has said it could take two years before construction would start. He said the project would be built in phases, starting with the casino.

In Echo Hawk’s decision, the casino is described as two-story building that would have 134,150 square feet of gaming floor.

Scott Bailey, regional economist, weighed in Thursday on the projected wages.

He said in 2009, the average annual wage in Clark County was $41,150.

Retail jobs averaged $26,434, jobs in accommodations averaged $21,750 and food service jobs averaged $14,884 (tips and benefits not included.)

The average work week at full-service restaurants is less than 24 hours, Bailey said.

Many of the casino’s operational jobs would be considered low-wage, Bailey said, and many will be part-time.

He said the median hourly wage statewide at all gambling establishments was $14.55, meaning half the jobs pay below that amount.

The median hourly wage for all jobs in Clark County was $19.20.

Bailey said the impact of the jobs created by the casino is overstated, because the casino would divert spending at other local businesses. [cannibalization]

People would have to decide where to spend their entertainment dollars, Bailey said.

In the decision, Echo Hawk addressed each comment received by the BIA.

The Grand Ronde asked the BIA to consider the potential loss of customers to Spirit Mountain, approximately a 90-minute drive from Portland.

“Grand Ronde essentially is asking for protection from additional business competition for its Spirit Mountain Casino,” Echo Hawk wrote.

Even taking into consideration a loss of customers, Spirit Mountain, which reported $131 million annual income in its statement to the BIA, would still earn enough to cover the cost of tribal government operations, Echo Hawk wrote.

“Moreover, the BIA policies of promoting tribal self-determination, self-governance and economic self-sufficiency, do not require that BIA ensure the competitive advantage of one tribe to the exclusion of providing another tribe with similar opportunities for economic development and self-determination.”

Cardroom concerns
Echo Hawk also addressed the impact the casino would have on local jurisdictions.

The city of La Center submitted an estimate that the casino would result in a 66 percent loss in cardroom revenues, most recently estimated to make up $3 million of the city’s $4 million general fund revenues.

But since the city refused to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the tribe, Echo Hawk said he didn’t have to consider the impact on La Center’s gambling tax revenues.

“It is important to note that neither the BIA nor the Cowlitz Tribe have the ability to make the City of La Center accept any mitigation or enter into any mitigation MOU, as borne out by the fact that La Center declined to accept the tribe’s most recent mitigation offer,” Echo Hawk wrote.

La Center Mayor Jim Irish said he read the Record of Decision but hasn’t had an opportunity do an in-depth review of the document.

Irish said he and city attorney Dan Kearns plan to sit down and discuss the document soon.

Kearns will review the record of decision with the city council in an open meeting on Jan. 19.

The council, mayor and attorney will then retreat into executive session to discuss how the city plans to move forward and any potential action the city council wants to take, Irish said.

One major issue addressed at length in Echo Hawk’s decision is the tribe’s status.

One factor thought to be a potential complication for the tribe, which filed its trust application in 2002, was a subsequent Supreme Court decision blocking tribes not under federal jurisdiction prior to 1934 from taking land into trust. The Cowlitz Tribe was federally recognized in 2000.

According to Echo Hawk, the Cowlitz Tribe’s application to have the Clark County land placed into trust was filed under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act.

Echo Hawk concluded that the tribe was under federal jurisdiction from at least 1855, and there’s no clear evidence the federal government ever terminated the tribe’s jurisdictional status.

“For purposes of our decision here, I need not reach the question of the precise meaning of ‘recognized Indian tribe’ as used in the (Indian Reorganization Act), nor need I ascertain whether the Cowlitz Tribe was recognized by the federal government in the formal sense in 1934, in order to determine whether land may be acquired in trust for the Cowlitz Tribe,” Echo Hawk wrote.

He said the tribe’s need for a reservation is “dire” because it currently has no land in trust.

“As a consequence of the United States’ historical failure to enter into a treaty with the Cowlitz, and its subsequent opening of Cowlitz lands to non-Indian settlement without compensation, the tribe lost its lands and became dispersed,” Echo Hawk wrote.

Hawaii: $23 million fraud financed gambling junkets

Hilo Prosecutor’s ponzi brother pleads guilty in state -Feds Indict last week
By Dwight Kondo

Telling of Hawaii’s business environment – One week following the conviction of Maui ponzi-scammer, Lloyd Kimura, younger brother of Hawaii County Prosecutor, Jay, the Hawaii Better Business Bureau still ranks his bankrupt and criminal finance company with an “A+” rating. Well, that’s how things work here in Hawai’i Nei.

Kimura pleaded guilty to two counts each of engaging in prohibited securities practices and making false or misleading financial statements to the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Financial Institution Division.

Kimura has agreed to accept the mandatory 20-year prison term for the securities fraud charge and maximum five-year prison term for the false-statement charge when Circuit Court Judge Joseph E. Cardoza sentences him in February, said Chris Young, deputy state attorney general.

Unlike the BBB, the Hawaii U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni, following his conviction in state courts, filed federal charges against Wailuku ‘businessman’ Kimura, alleging mail fraud, bank fraud and theft from an employee benefit plan. The charges were made in the last days of 2010.

Also very noteworthy is the fact that no major news outlet makes a link between Lloyd and his Hawaii County Prosecutor brother Jay. What is important to note is that the criminal practices by the younger Kimura were indulged during the whole time his brother was putting people in jail for much lesser crimes on another island. The feds report that Kimura’s ponzi scheme started in 1986 and continued until November 2010.

Also, the BBB’s ‘bum steer’ ”A+” ratings given to Maui Industrial Loan and Finance Company, owned by Kimura, even though both declared bankruptcy in January 2010. Much of the unsecured liability Kimura listed — $16.2 million — is duplicated in Maui Industrial Loan & Finance’s filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court then.

A whole year has gone by and the Better Business Bureau still has not downgraded MILF Co.’s “A+” as of 0945-010311. (See below)

Also first linked here at Hawaii News Daily. Com. was a report by Pacific Business News concerning Lloyd Kimura’s remedy for stress. “As many as four times a year, the Hawaii native trades his office chair for a seat inside the Indian casinos dotting the California desert. 
“A week max,” Kimura says of his trips to the mainland. “It forces my mind to focus on something other than work.”

Is the Hawaii Better Business Bureau's bum steer still posted? go see: http://tinyurl.com/25oex

PBN reported that this habit was to relieve his “stress” and did not mention the relieving millions of OPM. That’s Other Peoples’ Money.

What is out there and may soon be reported is if older brother Jay tagged along with his ‘more successful’ brother on any of these “stress”-relieving binges to the California Indian casinos spending other peoples’ hard earned wages.

According to The Star/Advertiser:

The federal charges say Kimura “assured investors that loans made by MILFCO were secured, or ‘guaranteed,’ with collateral or liens on property.” But instead of making loans, money from investor/depositors was put into bank accounts, prosecutors allege.

Instead, Kimura used money from new investors to pay off earlier investors and even sent false financial statements, according to federal court records. That by definition is a ‘Ponzi Scheme”.

Federal prosecutors said that at no time was Maui Industrial Loan and Finance licensed by the state to accept deposits.

Kimura also made false statements to obtain lines of credits from two banks and stole $640,000 from the Lloyd Y. Kimura, CPA, Inc. Retirement Trust Account and 401K Profit Sharing Plan, federal court records say.

In addition to Maui Industrial and his accounting company, Kimura owns Wailuku Tire Center. http://tinyurl.com/25qsp5k

Pacific Business News also reported:

“Because his wife, Jennie Kimura, did not file for bankruptcy, the properties are
 not part of the bankruptcy estate because they are owned by the Kimuras as 
tenants by the entirety, Wagner said. “Everything that he has that’s in his estate will be liquidated,” Wagner said. “In order to keep [the nine properties] he still has to pay the mortgages on them or else they’re subject to foreclosure.”

The loan company has about $4 million in receivables, but $3 million was from Kimura, who apparently borrowed the money from the (his own) loan company, Wagner said. The remainder is loans issued to customers, whose payments are now being collected by the trustee. Kimura, who also is a certified public accountant, listed $4.25 million in 
assets, the bulk of that in real estate. He owns 10 properties, but is claiming exemption for nine of them, including his home and the office building, because they are jointly owned with his wife.”

Tags: $23 Million Stolen on Maui, Convicted $23 million ripper Hilo prosecutor's brother, Dwight Kondo, Feds Indict Maui Ponzi Scammer, Hawaii Better Business Bureau, Hawaii County Prosecutor Jay Kimura, Lloyd Kimura pleads guilty in Maui for lying to stae

Phhffffeeeeettttttt!

Regarding the inaccurate information stated by Senator "Not Rocket Science" Rosenberg, a friend and regular reader responded --


In the Middleboro region we were lied to by "competent attorneys" also who failed to mention the Carcieri challenge which they knew about.

Before Carcieri v. Salazar, the state had an Indian gaming attorney testify at the 2008 casino hearings, and the best she could say was that in her mind, it was possible. IGA's make their money on Indian gaming and do not want to believe they could find themselves without half of their potential clients.

The BIA is staffed almost completely by Indians, and have repeatedly failed to acknowledge the Hawaii SCOTUS decision.

The Tribe is trying to scare the state, and the State eagerly complies.

I can't speak for Senator Spilka but Senator Morrissey was clueless about Carcieri v. Salazar at a late 2008 debate in New Bedford. He even admitted it once we clued him in.

Being an Attorney means nothing. We've been lied to by plenty of attorneys. There are competent attorneys who helped file and argue Carcieri v. Salazar.

The Mashpee can open a bingo hall (class II - on their own reservation land - if they have reservation land - which they don't) But what is the financial incentive? The Seminoles could not make a good profit with bingo and repeatedly tried to get slots, ad their nearest competitors were 600 miles, not 2 hours, away.

We've researched this exhaustively for 3 years - we are stakeholders - and others have researched it for 20.

It's not a difference of opinions - it's a senator who provides other senators with inaccurate information to fuel his private agenda.

A promised chairmanship perhaps?

Senator Rosenberg: Wipe the egg off your face!

Because the Senators behave like a bunch of adolescents and the conduct of business is barely audible when sitting in the Senate Chamber, the live video at home where the continuous chatter is filtered out was far more productive and listening in the background as the inaccurate discussion of Indian Gaming arose was most distressing.

Although attention was divided, Senator Rosenberg apparently circulated a memo to his colleagues that contains some egregious misinformation, distorts the history of the CT Slot Parlors, and pretends to use LIT (Land into Trust) as the threat posed to immediately approve the grossly flawed and hastily composed Casino Legislation being debated before the Senate.

It was clear from listening to Senator Rosenberg's description that he has never read "Without Reservation" that was distributed to each member of the legislature at one time when the Aquinnah proposed a casino on the Plymouth waterfront.

It is my understanding (and I'll post the transcripts when available), that the Senators believe Carcieri v Salazer poses some imminent threat.

Because the comments I heard Senator Rosenberg make were so totally wrong, the following email was sent to him --

Honorable Senator Rosenberg:

You are incorrect in the comments you made about
Land Into Trust.

Both Carcieri v Salazar and the Hawaii decision PREVENT
LIT.

The Hawaii decision was signed onto by a majority of
Attorneys General.

SCOTUS and Hawaii Being Ignored

To justify this legislation for the incorrect reason you offered is
absurd.

Massachusetts does NOT find itself in a comparable situation
to Connecticut.

Texas has successfully prevented Tribal Casinos because they
have NOT legalized slots.

In addition, if you truly believe the 'threat' posed by Native
American Tribes, you need to be aware that there are an
additional 6 or possibly 8 Massachusetts Tribes that have
filed for recognition.

Respectfully,

The following represents the reply from Senator Rosenberg --

We have consulted with competent legal council and with the BIA and they say the Mashpee will get land in trust within a reasonable period of time. They appear to be the only tribe in the foreseeable future that is expected to get there and be able to install gaming.

If the state does nothing there is ample precedents for class II machines with no taxation, community mitigation or regulation. This has been thoroughly researched and documented. I am not the only Senator researching these issues. Senator Morrissey and Spilka both of whom are attorneys have also researched this exhaustively and have come to the same conclusions.

I know this conflicts with your perspective but it is an honest difference of opinions.

Stan Rosenberg

This is NOT a difference of opinion, honest or otherwise.

It is my recollection that the Massachusetts Attorney General signed on to the Hawaii decision.

This was posted in 2009 --

SCOTUS and Hawaii Being Ignored

Within weeks of the 8-1 Carcieri v Salazar decision, a second
strike on fee to trust was issued. This time it came from a case
originating in the state of Hawaii. In the 9-0 decision on Hawaii
v. the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Justice Alito wrote, "It would
raise grave constitutional concerns" Congress sought to "cloud
Hawaii's title to its sovereign lands" after it had joined the
Union. "We have emphasized that Congress cannot, after
statehood reserve or convey....lands that have already been
bestowed upon a state". How many readers of this paper could
be effected by issues concerning land that has been "bestowed
upon a state"; as an original colony, through disestablished
territory or when the territory entered into statehood?

The research and fact finding of this process have been conspicuously lacking.

Senator Rosenberg, NO ONE, not even you can offer a cost for the bureaucracy you're creating.

Senator, you need to do your research and not simply find a colleague who believes he/she has offered an opinion.

At NO TIME have I heard any Senator address that the SCOTUS Hawaii decision negates your argument.

There will be NO TRIBAL CASINO ON TRUST LAND IN THE COMMONWEALTH, unless these folks in the Senate approve this folly.

In addition, I would call it to your attention that the Mashpee Wampanoags' historical connections to Middleboro have been challenged, but their historical connections to Fall River? Surely you jest?

I remember when Glenn Marshall told us it was INEVITABLE and THOSE SHOVELS WOULD BE IN THE GROUND ......

SCOTUS and Hawaii Being Ignored

Saturday, July 11, 2009, the following was posted -- Mashpee Wampanoag Pipedreams, including the following --
.
Within weeks of the 8-1 Carcieri v Salazar decision, a second

strike on fee to trust was issued. This time it came from a case
originating in the state of Hawaii. In the 9-0 decision on Hawaii
v. the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Justice Alito wrote, "It would
raise grave constitutional concerns" Congress sought to "cloud
Hawaii's title to its sovereign lands" after it had joined the
Union. "We have emphasized that Congress cannot, after
statehood reserve or convey....lands that have already been
bestowed upon a state". How many readers of this paper could
be effected by issues concerning land that has been "bestowed
upon a state"; as an original colony, through disestablished
territory or when the territory entered into statehood?
.
Simplified versions may be found here --
SCOTUS WIKI
Opinion Recap: Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs

.

Recently, Federal bill could get Middleboro casino plans back on track ignores the Hawaii decision to which a majority of states' AGs signed onto.

.

Although no expertise is professed, in our midst are legal experts who surely will opine that the Hawaii SCOTUS decision cannot be undone.