Tribe Casino Plans Remain Unchanged

Aquinnah Wampanoags Are Committed to Gaming Too; But First Mashpee
Must Convince State Legislature

By IAN FEIN

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) remains interested in
developing an off-Island casino, tribal council chairman Donald Widdiss
said this week.

But before they identify or actively pursue a specific site, tribal
members are waiting to see whether the Massachusetts legislature will
vote to allow expanded gaming - a step it has consistently
rejected in the past.

"In terms of what's out there, it's all
speculation," Mr. Widdiss said yesterday about talk of a casino.
"And quite frankly, there is no evidence that anything has
changed."

Seeing gaming as an economic development opportunity that could
benefit tribal members, the federally recognized Aquinnah tribe for
years has maintained an active gaming corporation and retained attorneys
and lobbyists, Mr. Widdiss said. But the topic has attracted new
attention in recent weeks following federal recognition for the Mashpee
Wampanoags, who are now aggressively pursuing a casino near Cape Cod.

Shortly after receiving federal recognition this spring, the Mashpee
tribe joined with developers of the Mohegan Sun resort and casino in
Connecticut to secure the rights to roughly 325 acres of land in
Middleboro.

"The only thing that's different is public perception,
because of the news coverage of Mashpee," Mr. Widdiss said.
"Whether that's going to have any effect on the legislature
is the issue."

Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, federally recognized tribes
have the right to develop casinos if gaming is permitted elsewhere in
the state. The Massachusetts state senate has supported expanded
gambling in the past, but the house of representatives has consistently
opposed it. Just last year the house decisively rejected a bill to allow
slot machines in state race tracks.

"It wasn't even close," said Rep. Eric T.
Turkington, a Democrat who represents Falmouth and the Islands and has
opposed expanded gaming. "The concern of the house in the past has
been, as with potato chips, you can't just have one. Once you
allow a casino, you're going to have two tribes, four race tracks
and at least two depressed cities showing up and saying they want one
too. That's the slope the house never wanted to go down in the
past."

Meanwhile, legislators, tribal members, developers and casino
opponents all await a study committee report set for release later this
summer that was commissioned by Gov. Deval Patrick, who has yet to take
a position on the issue. Though expanded gaming would likely still
require approval from the house of representatives, casino supporters
see Governor Patrick's study as a welcome change from former Gov.
Mitt Romney, who was an avid opponent.

"The fact that Governor Patrick wanted to take an objective
and fresh look is a good thing," Mr. Widdiss said, noting that
tribal representatives met with the study committee earlier this spring.
"But what that ultimately gets us, I don't know."

If it appears that the legislature is actually going to approve a
gaming bill, the Aquinnah Wampanoags will be prepared to move quickly on
the matter, Mr. Widdiss said. They are talking with potential
development partners but are not ready to sign with anyone, and have yet
to select any particular site for a casino because they are waiting to
hear what types of restrictions the state might impose on gaming
legislation, if it eventually passes.

While the Mashpee tribe is being active and vocal about its plans,
Mr. Widdiss said the Aquinnah Wampanoags have learned from experience
that it makes more sense to take a wait-and-see approach. The Aquinnah
tribe in earlier years spent millions of dollars on unsuccessful casino
efforts.

"Putting ourselves in a position of trying to influence the
state legislature did not work before, so I think we made a conscious
decision to be more contemplative about the whole thing this time
around," Mr. Widdiss said. "We burned a lot of fuel back
then, and the car didn't go anywhere."