Casino

Massachusetts Governor Patrick yesterday asked the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to reject a request by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to take more than 500 acres in Middleboro, Mass., in federal trust for an Indian casino.

“Because the placement of lands in trust may exempt certain activities on those lands from state and local laws, there are significant jurisdictional concerns at the state level which, unresolved, should preclude the BIA from recommending approval of the tribe’s proposed acquisition,” Patrick wrote in a letter to the BIA.

Today is the deadline for the state to comment to the BIA.

In the letter, Patrick argues that the tribe failed to meet the criteria set by the BIA to take land in trust. It also argues that the tribe did not build necessary safeguards in its casino plan for environmental protection, zoning, transportation, labor, public safety, public health and consumer protection.

Patrick has proposed putting three state commercial casino licenses out to bid. He estimates that will generate $600 million to $900 million in one-time applications fees, plus $400 million a year to the state in tax revenue on top of money that would go toward public health and the host communities’ safety and transportation needs.

That proposal remains under review by the Massachusetts legislature.

Yesterday, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Shawn Hendricks Sr. released the following response: “The tribe continues to have productive discussions with the Patrick administration. We have clearly stated our reasons for sovereign land, and the governor has clearly stated his questions and concerns for the commonwealth. We look forward to working through the issues raised with him, and I am confident we can do so.”

Pushing that plan through could give the Mashpee Wampanoags a good chance of grabbing a big slice of the $1.1 billion that Massachusetts residents already gamble at out-of-state venues.

The tribe’s plan, announced last year, spurred interest among casino interests in both the Bay State and Rhode Island.

While the Mashpee Wampanoags passed over New Bedford in favor of Middleboro, another band of Wampanoags, the Aquinnah tribe, considers New Bedford a potential casino site. The Aquinnah, of Martha’s Vineyard, have joined with an upstate New York tribe to try to build a gambling resort in Massachusetts. About a half-dozen development groups have explored building a casino in the Whaling City, while others have looked at Boston, Marlboro, Palmer and Plainville, all in Massachusetts.

The proposals also pushed gambling interests in Rhode Island to clamor for expansion at the state’s two slot parlors, Twin River and Newport Grand. Slot-parlor owners and some state legislators said any move to expand gambling in Massachusetts is likely to cut into Rhode Island’s gambling revenues.

pgrimald@projo.com