Tribes to pursue casino license together

The Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe of Martha's Vineyard, who for 15 years have foundered in their efforts to get into the gambling business, gained new credibility in their current push for a casino yesterday by becoming partners with a business-savvy New York tribe.

That tribe, the Seneca Nation of Indians, has successfully developed casinos in Niagara Falls and Salamanca, both in New York, and is rapidly completing a sprawling casino complex in downtown Buffalo.

Leaders of the Aquinnah Wampanoag and the Seneca declined at a news conference yesterday in Boston to detail the business deal between them, including the split of profits from any eventual casino opened in Massachusetts.

But Donald A. Widdiss, the Aquinnah Wampanoag chairman, said the partnership means the tribe will aggressively compete for one of three regional licenses Governor Deval Patrick would put out for bid under the proposal he unveiled last month to introduce casinos to Massachusetts.

The tribe would seek a license in the western region of the state, Widdiss, said, but it also is prepared to compete with the state's only other federally recognized tribe, the Mashpee Wampanoag, for the license designated for Southeastern Massachusetts, he said.

"This deal with the Seneca gives us credibility," Widdiss said in an interview yesterday. "That's part of the package in bringing in the Seneca. It illustrates how serious we are, how committed we are. We want to put up the best casino possible, not just anything."

Widdiss pointed out that since 2002, the Seneca have quickly developed three large and profitable casinos in New York, and that the 7,600-member tribe has $1.2 billion in revenue from its casinos and other businesses.

That ability to move quickly might be what Patrick wants, Widdiss said.

"The way we read what he is saying, he wants casinos up and running quickly, and it's nice to know the Seneca have a record of acting expeditiously," Widdiss said.

Last month, Patrick announced a plan to license three full-scale casinos, one in the Boston area, one in Western Massachusetts, and one in Southeastern Massachusetts. State officials have said they expect the licenses to bring in at least $200 million each. Patrick has indicated that, when judging the various proposals, extra consideration would be given to those that include participation of Massachusetts tribes.

The Legislature is expected to take up Patrick's casino proposal in January or February.

In the 1990s, the Aquinnah attempted to develop casinos in New Bedford and Fall River. Although the tribe enjoyed the support of Governor William Weld, the various proposals failed to win the necessary support in the Legislature. The tribe had a succession of development partners during that period.

A plan for a Western Massachusetts proposal would put the Aquinnah in competition with the Mohegan tribe of Connecticut, which has taken steps to develop a casino in Palmer, near the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Widdiss said the tribe has a hand-shake agreement to go into business with Northeast Realty, a real estate development company that is also working with the Mohegan tribe in Palmer.

Widdiss said representatives of the tribe are also scouring Southeastern Massachusetts for land to be developed into a casino, which would put them on a collision course with the Mashpee Wampanoag, who have firmly staked their hopes for a $1 billion casino in the region in Middleborough.

The Mashpee Wampanoag, who are descended from the same branch of the Algonquin as the Aquinnah Wampanoag, are ahead of the Aquinnah in their casino plans. They have deep-pocketed investors Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman as partners, ownership of 550 acres of land near Interstate 495 in Middleborough, and an overwhelmingly positive vote from a Middleborough Town Meeting for a Mashpee Wampanoag casino in that town of 22,000.

Although the Aquinnah are prepared to compete with the Mashpee, Widdiss said he hopes Patrick separates the two tribes, letting the Mashpee Wampanoag operate in Southeastern Massachusetts and the Aquinnah Wampanoag in Western Massachusetts.

"I don't think the governor intends for the two tribes to compete," Widdiss said. "I think he wants three casinos, two of them with tribal partners."

"The fact that two Native American tribes have expressed interest in bidding on a casino license shows that the governor's plan is working," said Kofi Jones, a spokeswoman for the administration. She said the criteria used to judge the proposals would be developed by an agency created to oversee the process.

Scott Ferson, a spokesman for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, said the Aquinnah "have every right to bid for a commercial license" under the proposal outlined by the governor.

Both Widdiss, and Maurice A. John Sr., Seneca president, touted the deal as a unique example of one tribe helping another and pledged that profits would be reinvested in tribal enterprises, rather than going to outside interests.

That was an apparent reference to the deal struck by the Mashpee Wampanoag. Last year, the Mashpee Wampanoag went into partnership with Kerzner and Wolman, the investors and developers who helped open the Mohegan Sun and who have an agreement with the Mohegans to be paid $1 billion for their efforts.

Sean P. Murphy can be reached at smurphy@globe.com