Thursday, 4:30 PM
Middleborough selectmen agree to support Mashpee Wampanoag casino
By Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff
The Middleborough Board of Selectmen has agreed to support a casino in the town in exchange for a promise from developers to pay the town $7 million a year for the wear-and-tear from millions of visitors, according to sources familiar with the deal.
The deal, if approved, would significantly advance the proposal of the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe and their partners, Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman, the billionaire developers of Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
The deal would also eliminate other possible locations for a casino, including New Bedford, where city officials had aggressively courted the tribe.
Under the terms of the Middleborough agreement, the selectmen would be required to throw their support behind the casino proposal in upcoming negotiations at federal and state levels, according to sources familiar with the deal.
On the federal level, that means the selectmen would join forces with the developers in urging the Department of Interior to accept Wampanoag land in Middleborough into trust status, a necessary step under federal law to open a casino.
The Department of Interior, in weighing whether to grant trust status, must consider whether it is locally supported, federal law says.
On the state level, the deal would require the selectmen to act in concert with the casino developers in seeking an agreement with the state. The compact would exempt the developers from the current state prohibition against slot machines in exchange for the developers agreeing to pay the state a certain share of revenues in lieu of taxes.
The deal calls for the developers to meet the cost of necessary improvements in water, sewer, and roadway infrastructure and to pay for any increases in police, fire, and other emergency services.
The Wampanoags have moved extremely fast in the last month to make the state's first casino a reality. On May 23, the 1,460-member tribe won federal recognition after a 30-year quest, a designation that included the conditional right to operate a casino.
On that date, tribal leaders inked a deal with Kerzner and Wolman, instantly giving them access to billions of dollars in capital and the kind of business know-how that has made Mohegan Sun one of the world's largest casinos.
Last Friday, the developers, known as Trading Cove Mashpee closed on the purchase of about 125 acres of land from the town for $1.8 million, after successfully bidding on it at an auction in March.
Meanwhile, the developers are pressing their legal interpretation that they can negotiate a compact with Governor Deval Patrick, without resorting to a vote from the state Legislature. A legal opinion to that effect has been circulated by the developers within the governor's office and the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.
While the state Senate has voted for expanded gambling in Massachusetts, the State House has steadfastly opposed it, and its current speaker, Salvatore F. DiMasi, recently questioned the right of an Indian tribe to open a casino.
"The tribe has been clear that it wanted to settle the question of where a casino would go sooner rather than later, and the negotiations with Middleborough have been cordial and fruitful," said Scott Ferson, the tribe's spokesman. "The tribe expects to have an announcement soon."
