A Deeper Look Into The Genting Group

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There are large numbers of articles about GENTING available, their generous campaign contributions and much else. 



Genting was the financier of the Seneca Niagara Casino Hotel in Niagara Falls, New York. Genting charged the tribe an exorbitant 28 percent interest rate, potentially in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulations under the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Genting also stayed in the deal for almost 15 years when they were legally limited to five. Seneca Tribal Council members have testified that armed Chinese thugs showed up to collect Genting’s money when tribal lawyers pointed out that Genting was violating the law.

Genting Connected to Islamic Extremists?

A Deeper Look Into The Genting Group

By Stanley Lim, CFA - December 9, 2015

Most investors in Singapore know about the Genting Group through the aplty-named multi-billion tourist attraction located at Sentosa Island, Resorts World Sentosa.

However, the integrated resort, which is owned by the Singapore-listed Genting Singapore PLC (SGX: G13), represents only one segment of the Genting group of companies. In fact, the main holding company, Genting Berhad (KLSE:3182.KL), listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, is one of the largest conglomerates in Malaysia.

Genting Berhad’s business interests stretch from leisure & hospitality to property development, agriculture, biotechnology, and even energy and oil & gas. In this article, let’s take a deeper look at the whole Genting family.

Source: Companies’ annual reports

Genting Singapore is one portion of the entire group’s leisure and tourism business. With a focus on integrated resorts (a combination of casinos, hotels, and various other attractions like theme parks), Genting Singapore is now developing a new project in South Korea, the Resorts World Jeju, which is expected to open in 2017. Beyond South Korea, Genting Singapore is also looking at opportunities in Japan.

Genting Berhad holds other tourism-related businesses through Genting Malaysia Berhad (KLSE:4715.KL). The latter owns and operates its flagship Genting Highlands resorts in Malaysia. It also has gaming interests in the United Kingdom, United States, and Bahamas. Genting Malaysia Berhad is also the largest shareholder of Genting Hong Kong Limited (SGX: S21), the operator of a leading cruise line, Star Cruises.

The agriculture and property interests of Genting Berhad come from its 52.6% ownership of Genting Plantation Berhad (KLSE.2291.KL), which is one of the largest palm oil plantation owners in Malaysia and Indonesia with a landbank of over 245,000 hectares. To put that into perspective, the land area of Singapore is around 72,000 hectares. The company has also developed properties on agricultural land that have already matured in value.

Lastly, Genting Berhad has made significant direct investments into the energy and oil and gas sectors.

The largest shareholder of Genting Berhad is Kien Huat Realty, an investment holding vehicle for the Lim family. Understanding the entire Genting group’s structure would allow investors to have a better grasp on some of the business decision that are made by each company’s management teams.

Furthermore, by looking at the past decisions the Genting group has made, investors would be able to analyse if the conglomerate has been fair to minority investors of any of the listed Genting group of companies.

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Unsealing A Legacy Of Corruption At The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office

Unsealing A Legacy Of Corruption 
At The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office

By Paul Nichols
Wednesday, Dec 23, 2015 

On Monday, Eric Kleiner, attorney for the Estate of Frank P. Lagano filed a motion in Superior Court to unseal evidence in the Bergen County gambling investigation ‘Operation Jersey Boyz’. Lagano ‘s Estate submits that law enforcement has used its secret-keeping privilege to “conceal legally damaging facts”.

The motion seeks to unseal the impounded records, wiretaps, and evidence emanating from the ‘Jersey Boyz’ investigation, which, to date, have never been released to the alleged criminal defendants or to the public.

“Years have passed since Operation Jersey Boyz came to an inauspicious end. Ex parte hearings and closed-door proceedings resulted in suppressed evidence, secret judicial opinions, and sealed records. This motion to unseal is about the control of state-held information, and the ever-changing tension between two conflicting values: secrecy and openness”, wrote Kleiner.

The 2004 crackdown on illegal gambling at Caffe Roma in East Rutherford netted more than $1 million in cash and arrests of dozens of alleged mobsters, but not a single person was charged or has served jail time. At the center of the case was alleged Lucchese crime family associate, Frank Lagano. Lagano was later gunned down outside his East Brunswick diner in 2007.

In 2012, Lagano’s family filed a wrongful death suit against the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office claiming that their lead detective outed him as a confidential informant, leading to his murder.

In a civil suit pending in federal court, Lagano’s estate alleges that Michael Mordaga, former Chief of Detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, the "BCPO", had both a personal and a business relationship with Frank Lagano. When Mordaga and Lagano had a falling out, Mordaga and the BCPO allegedly conspired to arrest Lagano on false charges, then disclosed Lagano's status as a confidential informant to members of organized crime, ultimately resulting in Lagano's murder.

In October 2014, a Federal Appeals Court vacated an earlier order that dismissed the civil suit saying the BCPO and Mordaga could not be sued because the BCPO was an arm of the State of New Jersey, and that Mordaga, as BCPO Chief of Detectives, was a state official.

In overturning that dismissal the appellate court found that “In this case, the amended complaint is replete with allegations that Mordaga and others within the BCPO were not performing the classic functions of law enforcement or criminal investigators. -- These allegations support a reasonable inference that neither Mordaga nor the BCPO acted within their classic investigatory and prosecutorial functions with respect to the state-created danger claim”.

Among claims by Lagano’s estate is that $79.900.00 seized from Lagano’s bank safe deposit box, and $54,528.00 seized from his residence was misdirected by the BCPO. Deposit slips show $79,900 and $54,528 transferred into a "CASH FOR PAYROLL" account maintained by the BCPO at Bergen Commercial Bank-not the legally required seized asset trust account held at Mariner's Bank. According to the brief, an additional $130,000 in cash seized from Lagano has never been accounted for.

In October, Prosecutor John Molinelli announced that he was being replaced by Governor Chris Christie. When asked about his decision to replace Molinelli, Christie responded saying, “the fact is that it’s time for a change in Bergen County. It’s long overdue.” “When that change is officially made, I’ll give you all the reasons why,” the Governor added.

“Unsealing is necessary to examine the alleged nexus between Michael Mordaga, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, the Bergen County Democratic Party, and Frank Lagano's untimely death,” Kleiner wrote in the brief.

Allegations against John Molinelli made headlines during the recent corruption trial of former Bergen County Democrat boss Joseph Ferriero. Before becoming County Prosecutor, Molinelli served as Treasurer, and then legal counsel, to the Bergen County Democratic Organization under Ferriero.

Questions were raised about Molinelli’s involvement in the criminal case of Dr. Gangaram Ragi, a Teaneck dermatologist who paid $500,000 to Ferriero after a dozen women came forward with accusations they were sexually abused by the doctor during examinations.

With Molinelli’s approval, Ragi received an unprecedented second entry into Pre Trial Intervention (PTI), a program that allowed him to avoid prosecution and may have helped him keep his medical license.

“The officials who investigated Frank Lagano are connected to extortion, patronage, fraud, trading in influence, and other criminal acts. They have not only abused power for profit; they have trod upon the independence of our judiciary and exploited the public trust. Indeed, United States Attorneys have openly accused the Bergen County Prosecutor of playing an active role in a criminal racketeering enterprise,” Kleiner wrote in the brief.

In October, the Bergen Dispatch obtained and published three letters written by Bergen County Freeholder Chairwoman Joan Voss addressed to the New Jersey Attorney General, Governor Chris Christie and Bergen County Assignment Judge Bonnie Mizdol.

Those letters read:

It has been brought to the attention of the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders at a recent Public Meeting that claims have been made against the Office of the Bergen County Prosecutor. It is our understanding that, as the appointing/overseeing authority, your office is the more appropriate avenue for these complaints. We will enclose a transcript of the public comment portion of that meeting as soon as it is available.

The letters were prompted by a group of citizens led by community activist and Molinelli critic, BiIl Brennan, attorney Eric Kleiner and Carlstadt Mayor William Roseman who spoke out at the September 30th public meeting of the Freeholder Board. 

Kleiner called upon the freeholder board to invoke their power under NJSA 52:17B-106 to request that the NJ Attorney General supersede the county prosecutor and remove Molinelli from office.

“This motion details over 10 years of unjust, oppressive, and illegal practices occurring under the direction of Prosecutor John Molinelli and his cohorts. The submission reveals public corruption of epic proportions at the BCPO; corruption that has occurred with the full knowledge or tacit approval of Governor Christie, the Office of the Attorney General, and the US Attorney’s Office. Apparently, the corruption occurring at the BCPO is so lengthy, dramatic, and far-reaching that various state and federal agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting these matters would rather sweep them under the rug by merely dismissing Molinelli from office than address the BCPO's unlawful conduct directly,” Kleiner said in a statement.

“For these reasons, the Estate's interest in discovering the true circumstances surrounding the murder of Frank Lagano is matched only by the public interest in exposing-and eliminating- the scourge of public corruption. In furtherance of judicial integrity, fundamental fairness, and public safety, the time has come to unearth the truth,” Kleiner surmised.

“In addition to the public corruption outlined in this motion, Molinelli declared war on innocent police officers for personal and political gain and all were acquitted. The saddest and most heinous part of Molinelli’s actions was that he knew these men were all innocent but he criminally prosecuted them anyway. Thank God for the jury system; which is our last line of defense in what has become one of the saddest chapters in law enforcement in US history. This includes P.O. Castronova [a 911 responder and hero] who was acquitted twice, Captain Garcia and Sergeant Aletta from the Hackensack Police Department and Officer Jeff Roberts and his codefendant from the Bergen County Police,” Kleiner told the Bergen Dispatch in a telephone interview.

http://bergendispatch.com/articles/37698913/Unsealing-A-Legacy-Of-Corruption-At-The-Bergen-County-Prosecutor-s-Office.aspx

HOW MANY TIMES DO RESIDENTS HAVE TO SAY NO?

Anti-casino activists sue to block ballot question allowing 2nd Massachusetts slots parlor

A proposed ballot question would allow a second slots parlor, which a developer wants to build at Suffolk Downs.(File photo

By Shira Schoenberg | sschoenberg@repub.com 
Follow on Twitter 
on December 22, 2015

A group of anti-casino activists have appealed to Massachusetts' high court to keep a question that would allow a second slots parlor in Massachusetts – most likely at Suffolk Downs – off the 2016 ballot.

Ten Massachusetts residents who oppose expanded gambling filed a complaint with the Supreme Judicial Court against Attorney General Maura Healey and Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin.

"The suit is to encourage them to take a second look at the language and recognize this is not a statewide ballot issue," said Celeste Myers, a leader of No Eastie Casino, which was formed in 2012 and led the East Boston opposition to a proposed casino at Suffolk Downs, a racetrack that straddles Boston and Revere. Myers is one of the plaintiffs in the complaint.

Eugene McCain, who filed the ballot question petition, did not respond to requests for comment.

The proposed 2016 ballot question would allow the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to issue a second slots parlor license. Currently, only a single slots license is allowed under state law. The question specifies that the new slots parlor would have to be located near a horse racing track.

By law, a ballot question cannot apply only to one particular locality.

Healey's office, which certified that the ballot question is constitutional, found that the language is broad enough that it could apply to multiple sites.

But the anti-casino group argues that the language is clearly written to apply to only one location – Suffolk Downs.

They write in their court complaint that the only other potential sites that would fit under the language are Plainridge Park, which already has the state's first licensed slot parlor, and Brockton Fairgrounds, which is applying for a license for a resort casino and would be prohibited from filing another license application under an agreement it signed with the town of Brockton.

The anti-casino activists argue in their complaint that based on geography and on public statements by the petition filer, McCain is trying to develop a parcel of land around Suffolk Downs. So the ballot question would only affect one community and should not be voted on by the entire state.

"It's very specific to our local area," Myers said.

"The suit is to encourage them to take a second look ... and recognize this is not a statewide ballot issue."

The petition also argues that the same issue was voted on during the last statewide election. State law prohibits the approval of a ballot question that is "substantially the same" as a measure that was voted on in the previous statewide election. In 2014, voters rejected a question that would have repealed the state's law allowing casino gambling. The anti-casino group argues that this question is similar because it is an amendment to state's gambling law.

Healey's office will file a brief with the court in the coming months saying why it believes the ballot question is constitutional. The complaint will be considered by a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, who can either issue a ruling or transfer the case to another court.

A spokeswoman for Healey declined to comment on the substance of the case.

Galvin spokesman Brian McNiff said Galvin's office does not comment on matters pending before the court. But he noted that the decision about constitutionality is entirely up to Healey. Galvin's only involvement is to certify whether a group gathered sufficient signatures.

Although supporters of the ballot question successfully gathered 74,500 signatures, more than enough to meet the first threshold for getting a question on the 2016 ballot, the process has been quiet. Neither McCain nor an attorney who filed papers for the ballot question with Galvin's office returned phone calls or emails.

Advocates for the ballot question have not filed paperwork with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance to form an official ballot committee. An official committee is required when two or more people or organizations get together and spend money to support or oppose a ballot question. Unless McCain is working by himself, he would have to file a report if he hired a firm to collect signatures.

The Boston Globe reported in September that McCain is a real estate broker and developer living in Thailand who has an option to buy a trailer park in Revere, near Suffolk Downs. McCain told the Globe that he was considering multiple locations for a hotel and mixed-use development, which would include a slots parlor.

The 10 original signers on the petition were from West Springfield, Dover, Hull and Needham. One of them told The Republican / MassLive.com that she was not answering questions about the petition. The others did not respond to voicemail messages left on Tuesday.

Chip Tuttle, chief operating officer at Suffolk Downs, told The Republican / MassLive.com that the racetrack is monitoring the proposal but is not involved in it.

If a second license is authorized, it would still have to be granted by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Gaming Commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said the commission is not considering the issue right now, since it is out of the commission's control. "If we reach a point where we need to, we will," Driscoll said.

Suffolk Downs previously proposed hosting a resort casino. But in 2013, East Boston voters rejected the plan. Suffolk Downs then proposed building the entire casino to the Revere side of the racetrack, since Revere voters supported the plan. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, however, awarded the resort casino license to Wynn Resorts in Everett instead of to Suffolk Downs.

City of Boston officials say McCain has not reached out to them. Revere's economic development director did not return a phone call.

http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/12/anti-casino_activists_sue_to_b.html

Leigh D Wilson's post.

Libby Mitchell shared Leigh D Wilson's post.

2 hrs · 

I know a lot of my FB friends will not enjoy reading this...but it comes from my heart...I had to face poker machines gambling addiction. It is humiliating, sadly very hard, but can be done. I see alcohol also killing and maiming people like gambling does and and it is heart-breaking. The same insidious industry drives dangerous products....but they are dressed up to promise us that 'if we drink and gamble responsibly we are OK'. How do we measure 'responsible'? Is 'responsible' really possible, given the facts?

This is not 'sour grapes' or an attempt to 'even up' any score etc...but please listen to the doctors, if not anybody else? I know I sound like I am preaching...but....

Another dangerous source of addiction and destruction is sitting right there at home with a lot of people...and they are hoping it is not true that they are addicted. Being addicted means not being able to give something up...or simply to do without it if and when you crave it.

Are we sure we can guide our children safely, given the amount of advertising that alcohol gets?

The alcohol industry thrives on spreading the misbelief that a little bit of alcohol is OK...only alcoholism is to be shunned. That is maybe true in some small ways...eg if a person drinks one or two glasses of wine a week etc...like one cigarette per day really is unlikely to kill anyone...but in real life it tends to be just utter crap. When we drink, we often drink daily, using giant wine glasses. Like cigarettes and gambling...every drop of alcohol or dollar spent, does some damage to the body or the pocket. We just do not get told the truth as it suits the alcohol industry to sugar-coat the addiction issue of alcoholism, while paying huge advertising, to make grog a status symbol like gambling has now become. It is harder to knock trendy products.

""Alcohol affects just about every system because it's a small molecule that goes everywhere in the body," says Paul Wallace, emeritus professor of public health at University College London and medical director of the charity Drinkaware. "From the gut to the heart, the blood vessels to the skin, its effects are all-pervasive."

Please let's all be careful?

Leigh D Wilson

15 hrs · 

This makes quite sobering reading "What alcohol does to your body after 40" and why it is worse than when you are younger....

http://www.theage.com.au/…/what-alcohol-does-to-your-body-a…

Once upon a time....

Gary Loveman salivated to invade Massachusetts with an elegant Slot Barn on the pretext of 'preserving horse racing' [where have we heard that before?].

Gary Loveman is a mathematical genius who revolutionized Harrah's and the ability of the Gambling Industry to SUCK more $$$ from your pocket and create loyal gambling addicts. 

You didn't have to be a financial analyst to know where Caesars would end....chasing the elusive Pot O' Gold!

CZR:  Caesars Entertainment discloses bankruptcy report
1:44 pm, Tue, Dec. 8, 2015

Read now »

CZR price at time of publication: $7.30. Check CZR price now »

Casino hosts turn to stats in rating players, giving comps and worshipping EXPLOITATION!

15 reasons why I oppose the expansion of gambling in Massachusetts…

CZR: Caesars Entertainment files bankruptcy update

Gambling question among 6 that appear to have cleared hurdle

Certified signatures delivered to secretary

Published  5:30 AM EST Dec 03, 2015

BOSTON —Massachusetts voters could be getting another chance to expand gambling in the state.

A ballot question that would allow Massachusetts to issue a second slots parlor license -- apparently for a site near the Suffolk Downs race track -- could be headed for the 2016 ballot.

Massachusetts Secretary William Galvin said the question is one of six whose supporters appear to have delivered a minimum of 64,750 certified signatures of registered voters to his office by Wednesday's deadline.

Other questions that could land on next year's ballot would legalize the recreational use of marijuana; prevent farm animals from being kept in overly restrictive cages; lift state caps on charter schools; remove Massachusetts from requirements adhering to Common Core curriculum standards; and level the playing field between large hospital chains and small community hospitals.

Backers of a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow people who earn more than $1 million a year to be taxed at a higher rate also appear to have filed enough signatures. Because constitutional amendments follow a different path to the ballot, the earliest the question could go before voters would be November 2018.

Galvin said his office still must verify the signatures.

An email sent to the person listed as the contact for the slots parlor question was not immediately returned.

The question doesn't specifically mention Suffolk Downs but says the slots parlor must be located near a horse race track. The state's only other horse race track is in Plainville, the site of the slots parlor created under the law.

The 2011 law that legalized casino gambling in Massachusetts authorized the licensing of three casinos and a single slots parlor.

The group Citizens for Farm Animal Protection said it submitted 130,000 signatures to support a ballot measure that would phase out what it called extreme confinement and lifelong immobilization of animals on factory farms as well as the sale of goods produced under those conditions.

"It does make a significant difference for thousands of animals here in Massachusetts," said Stephanie Harris, state director of The Humane Society of the United States.

Critics said the proposal could drive up the cost of eggs, veal and pork.

The Campaign for Fair Care said it collected nearly 132,000 signatures to support a question to overhaul the state's hospital payment system by reining in medical centers and boosting support to community hospitals.

Backers of a question that would lift limits on the number of charter schools allowed in Massachusetts say they filed more than 73,000 signatures.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol said it collected more than 100,000 signatures for a question that would let Massachusetts residents 21 or older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana. It would also create a 3.75 percent state excise tax on retail marijuana sales on top of the state's 6.25 percent sales tax.

The head of a group that hoped to place a second marijuana legalization question on the ballot that did not call for an excise tax said he doesn't believe his group had collected enough signatures.

Once the signatures are verified by Galvin, he will refer the questions to lawmakers who have until May 3 to decide whether to approve the question. If they choose not to, supporters will need to collect at least an additional 10,792 signatures to secure a spot on the November, 2016 ballot.

http://www.wcvb.com/news/gambling-question-among-6-that-appear-to-have-cleared-hurdle/36772238

Massachusetts regulators question high costs for MGM casino

By PHILIP MARCELO - Associated Press - Thursday, December 3, 2015

BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts gambling regulators are pressing for more details on why the cost of MGM’s planned Springfield casino has ballooned.

Casino officials disclosed last month the cost of the downtown casino, hotel and entertainment complex has risen from $800 million to more than $950 million, despite the Las Vegas company’s efforts to propose cost-saving design changes.

But state Gaming Commission members Thursday expressed skepticism at the revised numbers, which MGM officials say are largely due to higher than expected labor, construction material and project administration costs.

“Show us some particulars. Or tell us it was a colossal budget error,” Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said at the meeting at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. “The numbers are just so big. It does not make sense to me.”

MGM’s revisions suggest the casino complex’s total size has been reduced by about 10 percent, yet costs have risen at least 25 percent.

At its original $800 million price tag, the casino would have cost about $1,000 per square foot to build, since it was envisioned as an 800,000 square foot project, Cosby said.

But with proposed design changes, he calculates that the casino is on track to cost roughly $1,300 per square foot, since the project has been scaled back to roughly 720,000 square feet yet its total price tag is now over $950 million.

“Anyway you come at it, it’s a big change,” Crosby said.

MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis promised the company would provide further details, but cautioned that some of the detail might be proprietary. “We’re not trying to be elusive on the answers,” he said.

Mathis noted the design changes, which require state and city approval, help the company save about $75 million. Without them, the project would exceed $1 billion.

The design changes include replacing a 25-story hotel tower with a six-story structure, moving an apartment complex off site and reducing the overall size of the complex, among other changes.

Springfield-area residents voiced mixed views of the proposed changes at a roughly hourlong hearing following MGM’s discussion with the commission.

City Council President Michael Fenton said he opposed the changes and hoped the city could be compensated somehow. But other council members and business leaders stressed the significance of the project, which is touted as the largest private development in western Massachusetts.

The dozens of written comments to the commission were similarly mixed.

Resident John Scagliarini said he was upset and disappointed by the changes. “I feel like MGM is playing a game and I am not happy about that at all,” he wrote.

But Carol Kerr, another city resident, said the new, low-slung hotel design is a better fit for downtown, encouraging guests to venture outside the casino grounds more than a hotel tower would.

“There is nothing nefarious about it,” she said of the changes. “It’s just how large scale building projects work.”

MGM’s casino is one of three gambling developments approved in Massachusetts. It has been delayed at least a year and is now slated to open in late 2018.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/3/gambling-regulators-seek-more-details-on-mgm-casin/

Senate bill would allow Massachusetts casinos to expand into online gambling

Posted: Wednesday, December 2, 2015 10:04 pm | Updated: 11:15 am, Thu Dec 3, 2015.

BY JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF 

PLAINVILLE - Massachusetts casinos, including Plainridge Park Casino, would be able to expand into online gambling under a bill filed by the Republican leader in the Senate.

The bill, filed by Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, would allow only casinos licensed in the state to engage in Internet gambling.

The form of the gambling to be allowed would be determined by the state Gaming Comission.

Fourteen states already allow gambling over the Internet, contributing to concerns that Massachusetts casinos may be left at a competitive disadvantage.

"Our state has chosen to pursue casino gaming, and is licensing operators to enter a fiercely competitive national market that is much more fully developed in other states," Tarr said.

"Allowing those we are counting on to produce revenue for Massachusetts and our cities and towns to conduct online gaming will give them a competitive advantage, and increase their chances of success," he said. "That success, in turn, can deliver substantial benefits through funding for our spending priorities and our budgets."

Plainridge, off Route 1 in Plainville, is the state's only operating gambling facility at present. It has 1,250 slot machines and harness horse racing.

The Gaming Commission has also issued licenses for resort-style casinos for Springfield and Everett, but they could be years in the making, since construction has not yet begun.

The Wampanoag Native American tribe plans to build a casino in Taunton, and there is an application pending for another casino in Brockton.

Penn National Gaming, the owners of Plainridge, said it might be interested in online gambling.

"We support the authorization of Internet gaming to the extent it protects the economic investment the brick-and-mortar casinos have made in the state and the jobs we've created," Penn National spokesman Eric Schippers said. "Other states have addressed this through legislation that would restrict Internet gaming to only those existing licensed casino operators in the state."

It is unknown yet whether Tarr's bill will move forward in the Senate. It has received little attention, so far.

State Sen. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham, whose district includes Plainville and Plainridge, could not be reached for comment.

http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/senate-bill-would-allow-massachusetts-casinos-to-expand-into-online/article_1f0ce3a4-bdee-5f7a-9596-db475215ad84.html

Massachusetts casinos could expand into online gambling

World Casino Directory

Tarr said that Massachusetts has chosen to pursue casino gambling by licensing operators that are entering a fiercely competitive national market, ...

NO to Martha's Vineyard Bingo Hall FOR NOW!

Federal judge denies Vineyard tribe's bingo hall plan

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) have lost the latest battle over whether it can move forward with a bingo hall on Martha's Vineyard.




The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) wants to turn this unfinished tribal community center into a bingo hall.(AP Photo/Philip Marcelo, File)

By Ethan Genter


AQUINNAH — The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) have lost the latest battle over whether it can move forward with a bingo hall on Martha's Vineyard.

A federal judge ruled Friday that the tribe had not shown sufficient evidence it had the right to exercise “governmental power” over settlement lands, and therefore must follow state and town rules. The tribe has asserted that since they are a federally recognized tribe, it should be allowed to have certain types of gambling on tribe-controlled land under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Dennis Saylor IV wrote that federal law does not apply to settlement land, which the town, the Taxpayer’s Association of Gay Head Inc., and tribe agreed on in 1983. In the agreement, the tribe took control of 485 acres of land, and relinquished all claims to other lands and waters in the state.

“The Tribe agreed that the Settlement Lands would be ‘subject to all Federal, State, and local laws, including Town zoning laws,’” according to the statement of facts in Taylor’s 40-page decision.

“Accordingly, the tribe cannot build a gaming facility on the Settlement Lands without complying with the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth and the Town,” he wrote in his conclusion.

The 6,200-square-foot community center the tribe planned to convert into a gambling facility is owned by the tribe, but is under the control of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Gaming Corp., corporation representative Cheryl Andrews-Maltais told the Times in past interviews. Andrews-Maltais was not immediately available for comment Friday night.

Court administrator for Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Court Michael Blanton said he hadn't heard about the decision before being told by a Times reporter Friday, but called the news “very disappointing.”

The idea of gambling on the island has divided the tribe. In August, a resolution was put before tribal members asking if they wished to continue with the bingo hall plans. The vote was 110 in favor and 110 against.

According to Saylor’s order, in 1986 the president of the Wampanoag Tribal Council testified before Congress that: “We recognize and accept that no gaming on our lands is now or will be in the future possible.”

But the gambling hall is a way to close the economic gap experienced by the tribe, Andrews-Maltais has said.

“This is the only way that we feel we can close the gap between the haves and the have-nots,” she told the Associated Press in August. “It's time for folks to begin looking at our resources as shared resources.”

The tribe is expected to appeal Saylor’s decision, which the judge wrote was based on “two fairly narrow issues: whether the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act applies to the land in question and whether the tribe exercises jurisdiction and governmental power over the land, and second, whether the law overrides an earlier law.

“Whether an Indian Tribe should be permitted to operate a casino on Martha’s Vineyard is a matter of considerable public interest, and the question touches upon a variety of complex and significant policy issues,” he wrote.

But the lawsuit was neither about legalized gambling, nor development on the island, Saylor wrote.

“The role of the Court here is a narrow one, and it expresses no opinion of any kind about the broader issues underlying the dispute,” he wrote.


http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20151113/NEWS/151119690