Thursday, 4:30 PM
Menino invites Wampanoag to build casino at Suffolk Downs
(Patricia McDonnell/Globe Staff/file)
Mayor Thomas M. Menino suggested today that the Mashpee Wampanoags build a casino at Suffolk Downs, despite federal regulations that stipulate that any gaming facility must be within 50 miles of their tribal land on Cape Cod.
By Donovan Slack, Globe staff
Mayor Thomas M. Menino, seizing on an apparent impasse in casino negotiations between the town of Middleborough and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, gamely invited the tribe today to build its gambling complex at the Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston.
The mayor has wanted a casino at the race track for some time and has spoken about the issue with Richard Fields, the 61-year-old multimillionaire developer who took controlling ownership of the East Boston facility this spring.
The Wampanoag would have to jump some significant hurdles to take up the mayor's offer, including the US Department of the Interior's 50-mile rule, which limits the Indian-owned casino to land within a 50-mile radius of the Wampanoag tribal land on Cape Cod.
The tribe purchased 125 acres of town land in Middleborough at a public auction in April, but it balked this week at a new demand from the town for hundreds of millions of dollars for infrastructure improvements, including for roads, water service, and police.
Menino said he wants a casino at Suffolk Downs, whether or not it is run by the tribe. His spokeswoman, Dorothy Joyce, said this morning that Menino is hoping for some movement on Beacon Hill this summer toward legalizing gambling in Massachusetts, which would open the door to a commercial casino at the track.
A study commissioned by Governor Deval Patrick is scheduled to be released in coming weeks.
