CHARLESTOWN — The chief sachem of the Narragansett Indian tribe is calling for Governor Carcieri to hold a gaming summit to lay out the state’s gambling strategy before being left behind by neighboring Massachusetts.

Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas lambasted the governor for “schizophrenic posturing” on the issue of casino gambling in a harshly worded statement yesterday. In particular, Thomas took issue with Carcieri’s support for around-the-clock gambling at Twin River and Newport Grand in contrast to his vehement opposition to the tribe’s casino plans.

Carcieri said in recent weeks that he didn’t object to a bill submitted by Sen. Paul E. Moura, D-East Providence, that would allow non-stop gambling at both venues on weekends and holidays, as long it had town support. The governor also said he would back asking voters to weigh full-scale gambling.

“Personally, I’m not a fan of gambling,” Carcieri said at the time. But “the voters can decide what they want to do. I may have my own personal feeling, but it’s up to the voters at the end of the day.”

“These remarks are astounding,” Thomas said. “The governor did not want the people to have the right to vote on a Narragansett Indian casino, and totally ignored the [favorable] vote of the people of West Warwick. Now he is willfully ignoring the recent vote of the people of Lincoln against 24-hour gaming and expansion of the Twin River facility.”

Sixty-five percent of Lincoln voters opposed allowing 24-hour gambling at Twin River, and 60 percent voted against allowing the facility to become a full-fledged casino in a special election last fall.

The hours of operation at Twin River and Newport Grand lie with lottery officials, who can approve extended gambling at the owners’ request, Jeff Neal, spokesman for the governor, said yesterday.

“Despite that fact, the governor believes that hours of operation should be expanded in consultation with local residents,” he said.

Any substantive expansion in gambling would require a statewide vote — as seen in November 2006 when Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly rejected the tribe’s plans to open a casino with Harrah’s Entertainment in West Warwick, he said.

Thomas challenged Carcieri to disclose any relationships he or his advisers had with Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman, principals of BLB Investors, the gambling conglomerate that owns Twin River. Kerzner and Wolman are backing the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s casino plans in Massachusetts.

“There are no relationships,” Neal said.

In addition, Thomas set his sights on Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch’s ruling that virtual blackjack did not constitute a new type of gambling and therefore did not need statewide voter approval as set forth by the state Constitution. He challenged the conclusions by Deputy Attorney General Gerald Coyne and James Lee, the chief of his civil division, and noted that Lynch had done lobbying work for the dog owners association before being elected. He called for an independent expert opinion.

“It’s time for everyone to put their cards face up, and to dispense with any conflict of interest,” Thomas said. “Once that is accomplished it’s time to join together to create a comprehensive strategy on gaming in the state of Rhode Island before Massachusetts leaves us, once again, in the dust.”

Lynch in a statement last night criticized Thomas: “[He] lacks any basis to level these ethical and competency charges against a staff with decades of service to the State of Rhode Island and who are experienced and trained in interpreting Rhode Island law.”

“Chief Sachem Thomas’s statements are, of course, designed to promote the all-out efforts of his tribe to establish a casino or some other kind of gambling emporium in our state,” he said. “Having failed twice to bring a casino to Rhode Island and admitting that the people of this state have soundly voiced their objections to his efforts, he now wants to hold state law, state lawmakers, state regulators, and the state attorney general and his staff irrelevant.”

Neal said it is not likely that the governor will hold a gambling summit.

kmulvane@projo.com