Middleborough casino plan dwindles, but tribe’s hope remains

Some in Middleborough say the casino deal is virtually dead. One former official even urges a referendum to see whether voter support remains.

Meanwhile, Mashpee Wampanoag leaders are hopeful that a smaller project with a phased approach can still be salvaged for Middleborough.

Glenn Marshall, the charismatic former council chairman who was the tribe’s public face in 2007, sold Middleborough on the casino deal with promises of a world-class project with 4,000 slot machines and 200 gaming tables, a host of restaurants, a five-star hotel, and a major entertainment venue.

The tribe had backers with deep pockets: Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman, the team that built Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Marshall predicted the dice would roll in Middleborough by 2010.

Once the operation opened, Middleborough was to get a $7 million annual cut along with a multimillion-dollar take from hotel room proceeds.

But the optimism that accompanied those early days has long since evaporated. Marshall resigned his chairmanship in disgrace shortly after the Middleborough deal was struck, and he is currently serving 3 1/2 years in federal prison for fraud and embezzlement. Marshall’s sidekick Shawn Hendricks took over as chairman but was forced out some months later under a cloud of suspicion.

Now, a new set of leaders is marketing a far less glitzy casino package in Middleborough. That more humble plan, too, remains fraught with difficulty.

Former Middleborough selectman Ted Eayrs said tribal upheaval over the last two years has eroded credibility. “You’re dealing with a tribal structure that’s brand new and inexperienced,’’ Eayrs said. “Everything that’s happened since 2007 has served to undermine the ability of the tribe to build or manage anything. It’s clear to me everything has changed.’’

Meanwhile, a recent Supreme Court ruling bars the US Department of the Interior from placing land in trust for tribes recognized after 1934, so the Masphee tribe’s application is stalled. The Wampanoag are also experiencing difficulty with their backers. The investors, who have already sunk more than $10 million into the plan, completely cut off the cash flow to the tribe last May.

A short time later, the Tribal Council voted not to reaffirm its agreement with the investors, saying it provided little benefit to the Mashpee Wampanoag. The sides have yet to reach new terms.

Tribal Council chairman Cedric Cromwell remains optimistic. He predicts difficulties with the investors will soon be resolved. And he notes US Senator Byron Dorgan, a South Dakota Democrat who chairs the US Senate Indian Affairs Committee, has submitted a bill that would amend the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 to allow for the placement of land into trust.

Cromwell, with Indian leaders nationwide, will meet with President Obama next week to discuss land in trust and other tribe-related issues. “The Obama administration has been very committed to Indian country,’’ Cromwell said.

The scaled-down plan Cromwell presented to Middleborough officials a few weeks ago calls for a phased approach, starting with a smaller casino with some food service. The hotel would be built a little later and its size dictated by demand.

Selectmen chairman Patrick Rogers said the plan “makes good business sense’’ in the current economy, and the site allows for future growth.

But some say it is further evidence the casino ride is over. “This is not going to create the economic engine people relied on when they voted for this,’’ said Adam Bond, the former Middleborough selectman who helped draft the 2007 agreement between the tribe and the town.

“It’s gone from a Tiffany operation with an arena, restaurants, and a large hotel to a gin mill with a buffet table,’’ Bond continued. “A small casino with a little food and some rooms says ‘Go gamble and have hookers.’ ’’ Bond suggested local voter opinion on the recent plan be sought through a referendum.

Rich Young, president of both local and state anticasino citizens groups, agrees. “What the town was sold on was the promise of a quarter of a billion in infrastructure repair to water, sewer, and roads,’’ Young said. “That’s been the piece that would show they were serious, and none of it has been done.’’

The tribe has paid $750,000 to Middleborough since the agreement’s approval, to cover engineering and planning costs.

Casino expert Clyde Barrow, a professor at the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, believes a Middleborough casino remains a strong contender.

“We know whatever passes, it will be for no more than three licenses, distributed in greater Boston, the West, and the Southeast,’’ Barrow said.

“Milford and Uxbridge projects would fall into the West. Right now there’s no real proposal out there for Southeastern Massachusetts except for the tribe’s.’’

Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com.