Mass Gaming Commission chair Crosby thumbs nose at requirements under Expanded Gaming Act of 2011 (MGL Chapter 194)

Mass Gaming Commission
continues to ignore legislature

The Cape Code Times’ George Brennan reports (Patrick expects casino deal next week, June 13, 2012) that The Massachusetts Gaming Commissioner Steven Crosby plans to ignore requirements set forth by the Massachusetts Legislature in the Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 194 “AN ACT ESTABLISHING EXPANDED GAMING IN THE COMMONWEALTH.”  According to the article, Crosby stated that the “Commission would presume the tribe has the ability to get land into trust if it reaches a deal with the state and it's approved by the Legislature.”  Crosby added, "We'll give the tribe whatever the appropriate amount of time is to get that decision made.”

Crosby’s statement suggesting a State compact with Massachusetts Legislative approval represents sufficient evidence for the Commission that the Tribe will likely gain federal approval for their required land-in-trust application for an Indian casino shows a complete ignorance of current federal law and the application requirements.  

Current federal law, reinforced by two Supreme Court decisions (Carcieri v. Salarz & Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs), and guidance from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau for Indian Affairs (BIA) clearly states the Mashpee Wampanoag do not currently qualify for land in trust. 

Mashpee Wampanoag tribe Chairman Cedric Cromwell claims he is pursuing an “equal footing exception” to current law; however, BIA clearly states that such exceptions are extremely rare, require extensive and lengthy review, and the Mashpee Tribe, by all current independent expert reviews, fails to meet the minimum standards for such exceptions.  In fact, only one such equal footing exception has been granted in May 2012 by BIA since 2008 before the Carcieri ruling, and this was granted only after a seven year review process.  During this same time BIA has denied other applications from tribes with more qualifications for exemption than those offered by the Mashpee Wampanoag.

In addition, even if BIA were to grant the Mashpee Wampanoag an unlikely exception – the review process for which takes at least five to seven years with an existing backlog of more than 30 applications in front of the Mashpee’s– then this exception, if granted, still requires a supportive vote by the U.S. Congress to enact the land-in-trust transfer to the Tribe. Various influential Members of Congress, including Taunton and the Mashpee Tribe’s own representative Barney Frank, have publicly stated they would oppose any such votes.  Rhode Island’s legislators, including their Governor, are already moving to block the Mashpee Wampanoag application directly with BIA to protect their existing casino and Narraganset tribes’ interests located less than 25 miles away from the proposed Taunton casino.

Further, the Commissioner’s statement demonstrates that Crosby and his fellow commissioners are planning to ignore the state legislature’s intent and refuse to meet the Commission’s obligations under MGL Chapter 194, sections 67 and 91.

MGL 194, Sec. 67 clearly states:

The commission shall continue to evaluate the status of Indian tribes in the commonwealth including, without limitation, gaining federal recognition or taking land into trust for tribal economic development.

Crosby and the Commission have done no evaluation of the Mashpee Wampanoag application status and have received no expert opinions or evaluations of the likelihood of their application moving forward.  No records of any such evaluation, contracting for expert advice or reporting on this issue are found in any of the Commission’s published agendas.  By all accounts, the Gaming Commission has not even seen the elusive Mashpee Wampanoag full application Cedric Cromwell claims has been submitted to BIA.  

Yet, Mr. Crosby now states the Commission will use the successful negotiation of the Commonwealth’s Compact with the Tribe – a compact developed and negotiated for the Governor by the Gaming Commissions’ 48 hour tenure director Stan McGee before he was forced to resign his post following renewed claims about his 2007 arrest for sexually molesting a child in Florida. 

Unlike Mr. McGee’s problems - cited as an irrelevant and inconvenient distraction by Mr. Crosby -Massachusetts’ gaming law and the legislature’s intent are neither and must be addressed.  Crosby and the Governor tried to circumvent the General Court's will with regards to background checks for the likes of Mr. McGee (returning him to his high ranking policy post where he still works on casino issues for the Governor), only to be rejoined with a resounding veto override by both the Massachusetts House and Senate.  Mr. Crosby should have gotten the message then that the Legislature means business with regards to diligence and appropriate review for casino development issues in the Commonwealth.

Take note, MGL 194, Sec. 71 states that the Commission must conduct:

 (2) comprehensive legal and factual studies of the social and economic impacts of gambling in the commonwealth on: (a) state, local and Indian tribal governments; and (b) communities and social institutions generally, including individuals, families and businesses within such communities and institutions; provided, however, that the matters to be examined in such studies shall include, but not be limited to: (i) a review of existing federal, state, local and Indian tribal government policies and practices with respect to the legalization or prohibition of gambling, including a review of the costs of such policies and practices;

Apparently Mr. Crosby needs no comprehensive, legal or factual studies.  He simply wants to put the cart before the horse when it comes to granting the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribe a casino, before the Commission conducts any legal or factual studies or reviews existing federal policies on this matter.  Were he to conduct such legal or factual research, the Commission would find the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe would fail to meet the requirements for acquiring lands into Trust in Taunton under the law even without the current Carcieri roadblocks.

And, most importantly, MGL 194, Sec. 91 states if the requirements, which include the determination of a tribe’s ability to successfully secure the required federal approvals for their application for lands-in-trust:

That the Commission must open up and request applications from commercial licenses “not later than October 31, 2012; provided, however, that if, at any time on or after August 1, 2012, the commission determines that the tribe will not have land taken into trust by the United States Secretary of the Interior, the commission shall consider bids for a category 1 license in Region C under said chapter 23K.”

Mr. Crosby now suggests he’s ceding all responsibility for oversight of an Indian casino approval to Governor Patrick while giving an open-ended, non-defined window of time to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to find a way around current law which prevents them from taking land into trust.  “We will give the Tribe whatever amount of time to get that decision” ensures years of litigation and delays in Southeastern Massachusetts which were NEVER intended nor anticipated by the legislators who voted for this law.

This will completely circumvent the intention of the legislature establishing the Commission to make casino approval decisions and in placing a one year timeline an Indian tribe to overcome any land-in-trust issues so as to avoid multi-year delays.  

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has failed to overcome these challenges in the time allowed.  The Commission’s job now should be to move forward as prescribed by the law.  Taunton and the South Shore will otherwise be left mucking about the Wampanoag's administrative and litigation quagmire for years and years to come.  Those “urgently needed” jobs for which this legislation’s proponents claimed to be so desperately needed will never happen.  To ignore this is to admit the entire process and urgency of passing legalized gambling in Massachusetts was nothing more than a sham.

Given that the Governor and Mr. Crosby now clearly intend to thwart the intention as well as letter of the law voted on by the Massachusetts General Court, legislators should simply reject the Governor’s Tribal Compact, and demand Mr. Crosby appear before them to address why he thinks the gaming law as written is open to his whim and interpretation.  Then everyone, including the Mashpee Wampanoag people, can move on!

Wampanoag "Good Faith" reveals itself in campaign expenditures

The initial campaign reporting filings for the recent Wampanoag-Genting Indian casino ballot proposal in Taunton, MA reveal what the people of Taunton can expect from the promised Wampanoag "good faith" agreement negotiated with trusting Mayor Tom Hoye (Trusting Tom) to spend and hire locally in Taunton.

Of those Taunton residents hired to work as "campaign consultants" on the Together for Taunton campaign, solely funded by the Wampanoag's financial backers in Malaysia, all were paid significantly less than the Mashpee tribe member consultants and other non-Taunton residents hired.  In fact, non-Taunton resident employees were paid 88 percent higher wages on average by the Wampanoag for their campaign work.

Four Taunton residents received a combined $21,850 in consulting fees for their staff work on the Together for Taunton campaign - for an average payment of $5,463 for their work in the first reporting period.  Compared with $39,666 paid to four non-Taunton consultants (including two Mashpee tribe members) - for an average payment of $9,917.  Taunton resident jobs on the campaign paid 45 percent less than others hired by the Wampanoag.  If that math carries through to the casino, those $35,000 per year average salary jobs promised by Cedric "crush the competition" Cromwell will translate to $19,600 jobs for Taunton residents - or more likely, immigrants willing to do low paying hard labor work who will move into or near Taunton.  (By the way, it will be this influx of low-income wage earners and their families that will - according to Taunton's mitigation expert consulting report - increase local public school costs by more than $890,000 per year.  The City's intergovernmental agreement (IGA) negotiate by the Mayor with the Tribe secured only $360,000 in annual mitigation costs from the casino for schools - a $540,000 additional deficit which while have to come from local taxpayers.)

As for "buying local" good faith?  Other than spending a paltry 6 percent of their printing budget with a local Taunton printer (the remaining 94 percent being spent with printers in Cambridge and Stoneham), virtually no goods or services other than pizza, parking and rent were purchased in Taunton.  The campaign couldn't even be bothered to stay local for basic office and cleaning supplies.  The total goods and local services purchased in Taunton amounted to $6,650 less than 10 percent of their goods & services purchased.  Food (pizza) being a significant portion of that spend - guess they couldn't find anyone outside of Taunton willing to deliver.

If we consider the Wampanoag-owned, non-tax paying restaurants, bars, parking, hotels, stores and whatnot the Tribe's proposed Indian casino complex will include once built, we can likely kiss all those local minimum wage-paying pizza deliver jobs goodbye as well.

Trusting Tom is starting to look more like the Taunton village idiot than a Mayor entrusted to negotiate good contracts on behalf of his residents.

Taunton Indian casino – Call for independent community impact statements by July 2, 2012

Taunton-Wampanoag Indian Casino
35-mile economic impact zone includes
more than 50 Massachusetts & Rhode Island communities

Make sure your elected officials act now – before July 2, 2012 - to protect your economic, community, environmental and public safety interests if you live in any of these Massachusetts locations near the proposed Taunton-Wampanoag Indian casino: 

Abington, Assonet, Attleboro, Avon, Berkley, Bridgewater, Brockton, Buzzards Bay, Canton, Carver, Dartmouth, Dighton, East Bridgewater, Easton, Fall River, Franklin, Freetown, Halifax, Hanover, Lakeville, Marion, Marshfield, Middleboro, New Bedford, Norfolk,  Norton, Norwell, Pembroke, Plainville, Plymouth, Plympton, Randolph, Raynham, Rehoboth, Rochester, Rockland, Sharon, Somerset, Stoughton, Swansea, Walpole, or Wareham.  Impacted communities in Rhode Island include: Barrington, Bristol, Cranston, East Greenwich, Lincoln, Portsmouth, Providence, Smithfield, Tiverton, Warwick and Woonsocket.

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has an application for a land in trust (LIT) reservation casino complex in Taunton, Massachusetts pending before the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau for Indian Affairs (BIA).  While no one other than the Tribal Council has seen this application yet, the Tribe is required to include details on how the casino will impact surrounding communities on various fronts.  These include identifying environmental, economic, public safety, traffic and community character issues along with the Tribe’s plans for mitigation of any negative impacts.

The State of Rhode Island has begun preparing reports on the negative impact the proposed Taunton-Wampanoag Indian casino will have on jobs, local businesses and the Narragansett Indian Tribe’s interests in border communities in their state.   However, some local Massachusetts’ communities neighboring Taunton who tried to reach out to the City of Taunton and Tribe to request that they be included in impact related negotiations have simply shut-out and ignored.  Fortunately, the Bureau for Indian Affairs will not ignore these impacted communities’ input and is current soliciting community impact concern statements now. Anyone can send a comment of concern.  Those from elected officials in your community, however, will have the most weight.  Ask you local selectmen, school board members, public works officials, public safety officers, state representatives and senators and others to write BIA.

You must get your letters in by July 2, 2012.

Written comments should be sent by mail to:

Franklin Keel, Regional Director

Eastern Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs

545 Marriott Drive, Suite 700

Nashville, Tennessee  37214

Or via fax to: (615) 564-6701.

Make sure you include your name, return address and the caption specifying “Scoping Comments for Proposed Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Property Trust and Development'” on the first page of your written comments.

Please (cc)share copies of your letters with the:

Massachusetts Gaming Commission

84 State Street, Suite 720
Boston,  MA  02109
Fax:  617.725.0258

Independent economic and public safety studies shows the location of casinos impacts neighboring communities’ property values, crime rates, social service costs, road and infrastructure maintenance and local businesses within 35 to 50 miles.  Traffic, environmental and community character impacts can easily be seen in any community directly bordering a casino location but the impact extends well beyond that immediate area.  Issues for elected officials and community leaders in those cities and towns which border Taunton and fall within a conservative 35 mile economic impact zone should be demanding that Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Gaming Commission and the BIA require that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe research and provide mitigation strategies to address these concerns.

The Mashpee Tribal home and offices
are more than 50 miles away from the proposed
Taunton-Wampanoag casino site.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe offices are not within this impact zone, nor do the majority of tribe members reside within the impacted areas (Mashpee Tribe enrollment ordinances require that they live within 25 miles of the Town of Mashpee – which is more than 50 miles away from the proposed Taunton casino).  

Neighboring communities can anticipate significant traffic and potential environmental impacts from this Indian casino.  If you own or work for a business which might compete with those opening in the new Indian casino complex consider the words of Mashpee Wampanoag Chairman Cedric Cromwell as reported by the Boston Herald:

“We will destroy the competition because we won’t pay licensing fees or taxes!”

While Cedric was speaking then of casino competition, his remarks are equally true for restaurants, shops and attractions which will be forced to compete with the Taunton-Wampanoag Indian reservation complex.   This will be further exacerbated by the economic drain slot machines have on regional economies around casinos.

University of Illinois College of Business professor John Kindt has researched casino economics for more than 20 years and is the author of multiple reports and ongoing independent (not funded by the casino industry) research into the effects of casinos on the communities and regions in which they are located.  As to casino development promoters’ cornerstone promise of jobs, Kindt, notes: “Generally there is a bump lasting about two to three years. There are new construction jobs and a lot of activity as money is coming in.”  But Kindt warns that the bump won’t last: “Once the project is completed, and slot machines come in, [the casino] takes everything.”

The Mashpee Wampanoag Indian reservation casino for Taunton proposal includes 3,000 slot machines.  As an Indian reservation casino, state and local regulations limiting and regulating these slot machines do not apply.  The Tribe will pay no taxes or fees associated with these slot machines and may independently choose to increase the number of slot machines without any local or state approvals once their reservation application is approved.

Each slot machine costs the surrounding community one job per year, Kindt says. In an article for the Ohio Law Review, he reported that within a newly established casino’s “feeder market,” business and personal bankruptcies increase between 18 and 42 percent, while “impulse” business transactions in the area decline by 65 percent.

“When billions of dollars are going into slot machines, where are those billions of dollars coming from?” Kindt told the Biscayne Times in February of 2012. “They are no longer buying cars, refrigerators, or even food and clothing.”  In the case of the Taunton-Wampanoag Indian casino, those un-taxed billions will be going to the Tribe's financial backers in Malaysia helping improve the economy and job situation for Kuala Lumpur, not Massachusetts.

The Mashpee Wampanoag casino resort proposal includes a shopping mall, restaurants, water park and hotels.  The Tribe’s IGA with the City of Taunton conveys to them “super water rights” which will allow them to tap into the Taunton River Watershed to support their 250 million gallon per year local water drain. These Indian reservation businesses will add additional burdens to the area economies as they will pay no sales taxes, licensing fees or bear similar costs for state and local zoning and employment regulations.  Area attractions and businesses will see additional declines in revenue associated with this unfair competition.

Impact issues of concern for local communities based on Kindt’s research include:

·        The gambling drain on the economy and its net negative impact on job creation (job losses, local property and sales tax declines)

·        Addicted gambling and suicides (treatment and related costs)

·        Gambling-caused increases in bankruptcies, crime, and prostitution (public safety cost increases)

·        Gambling’s $3 in taxpayer costs for every $1 in benefits

Well beyond the borders of Taunton, communities will be impacted by casino-related competition costs, lost tax revenues and jobs will be felt at shops, restaurants and entertainment venues from the Swansea Mall to Westgate in Brockton and from Independence Mall in Kingston to Twin Rivers’ casino in Lincoln, RI.   Don’t count on the Mashpee Wampanoag representing any interests or community concerns to BIA.  If you and your local officials don’t speak now, you’ll have nobody to blame and no recourse later.

Chief: Wampanoag Tribe got federal recognition through efforts tied to fraud

Former Chairman Glenn Marshall gets credit for Wampanoag
Tribe Federal Recognition by current Chief.

The current Chief of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts told the Enterprise News that were it not for former Council Chair Glenn Marshall that the Mashpee band today would not be a federally recognized tribe.  You see, Marshall is returning home today from prison on the eve of a critical vote by the citizens of Taunton on Mashpee Wampanoag plans to build an Indian casino - something only federally recognized tribes can do - and current Chief Flying Eagle, Earl Mills, Sr told the Enterprise News: 

"“Without him we wouldn’t have tribal recognition... without Glenn we would not have recognition and chances are we would have never gotten it..."

Wampanoag Chief Earl Mills

The Chief admits Glenn "made a mistake" along the way, and he's admitted that he is no fan of the current Council led by Cedric Cromwell but doesn't seem to want Cedric to forget how he got where he sits today.  While trying to distance himself as a reformer, Cromwell served as a Tribal Council member under Marshall during his "mistakes." Cromwell served on the Council which voted to shun and ban tribe members who tried to challenge and seek the tribe's financial records associated with lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Kevin Ring.

So what mistakes associated with gaining federal recognition and starting the tribe's pathway to a casino did former Chairman Marshall make?   Just five criminal counts, including making illegal campaign contributions, tax fraud, wire fraud, and Social Security fraud.  Marshall used monies lent the tribe by South African "investors" hoping to cash in on casino riches (sound familiar today? - just replace South African with Malaysian) to engage in various felonies and activities with the infamous lobbyist "Casino Jack" Abramoff which the Tribe hopes people will forget when considering them as a good partner in casino deals today.  

Wampanoag lobbyists
Jack Ambramoff

So were it not for these criminal acts - which included over 50 illegal political campaign contributions to elected officials who helped the Tribe gain recognition (some of whom are still in office today supporting the Tribe's reservation casino efforts) - we would not be having a vote in Taunton to consider the Tribe's casino plans.  By most accounts from the Tribe, Marshall's acts were not for self-enrichment, but were illegal none-the-less.  The inheritors of Marshall's ill-gotten booty, however, appear more bent on their personal gains versus those of the tribe.

Today's list of characters in this bizarre saga simply has grown to back fill those sent off to jail in a previous act.  They include lobbyist Bill Delahunt, understudy to Mr. Abramoff; Chairman Cedric Cromwell, understudy to Mr. Marshall; and, playing new supporting roles Deval Patrick and Stan McGee.

By all normal definitions the Mashpee Wampanoag's current application for land in trust (LIT) and plans for a casino in Taunton are fruit of a poisonous (or at least rotten) tree.  Federal recognition gained through fraud, deception and shady dealings is not exactly the foundation upon which a credible and trustworthy casino gaming business should be founded.

Facts standing in the way of a Mashpee Wampanoag casino in Taunton

Governor Deval “I don’t count every check”Patrick with the help of his casino point man Stan “no comment” McGee, along with Mashpee Wampanoag Chairman Cedric “crush the competition” Cromwell and Taunton Mayor Tom “no due diligence required” Hoye are all publicly pushing the inevitability of an Indian casino in Taunton, Massachusetts.   Much news with glowing headlines is being promoted by the Tribe claiming “wins” and momentum behind their campaign for a reservation casino complex.  

Here are a few facts to keep in mind before anybody starts cashing Wampanoag-Genting casino checks:

1.    Land in Trust (LIT) – the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s application to create an “off reservation” casino in Taunton for the purposes of gaming must first be approved by the Department of Interior, Bureau for Indian Affairs (BIA).  Federal law (Title 25 part CFR 151.3) specifically notes:

“Land not held in trust or restricted status may only be acquired for an individual Indian or a tribe in trust status when such acquisition is authorized by an act of Congress. No acquisition of land in trust status, including a transfer of land already held in trust or restricted status, shall be valid unless the acquisition is approved by the Secretary.”

The recent “win” proclaimed by the Tribe for NICG approval of their amended tribal gaming ordinance specifically noted (something Mr. Cromwell failed to include in his proclamation) that the approval was moot absent the Tribe’s success in getting LIT approved.  Requirements from BIA are not simple and failure on any single item can cause the Tribe’s LIT application to be rejected.  Just a few of the hurdles for the Mashpee Wampanoag LIT application include:

a.    Carcieri v. Salazar – this Supreme Court decision requires that an Act of Congress change current law to allow for tribes, like the Wampanoag, which weren’t recognized prior to 1934 to get land-in-trust reservations.  No such bill to “fix Carcieri” is up for consideration in 2012 and multiple-influential sitting U.S. senators have publicly stated they will block any attempt to pass such legislation. 

BIA allows for very limited exceptions to the Carcieri ruling in approving applications for land in trust for the purposes of gaming.  These include “off reservation” and “equal footing” exceptions.  The Wampanoag Tribe is seeking an “equal footing exemption” to the Carcieri ruling with their off reservation site.   According to a recent notification by the Secretary of the Interior, both exceptions application processes are “lengthy and deliberate,” are “granted rarely” and required additional scrutiny.  Fewer than half of such applications are approved.  Never has an “off reservation” location been granted solely under the “equal footing” exemption being sought by the Mashpee Wampanoag.

b.    Ability to self-govern – the BIA will review and make a determination as to the Tribe and tribal leadership’s ability to effectively self-govern prior to granting them land in trust for gaming purposes.  The Tribe is hampered here on multiple fronts.  The City of Taunton’s IGA with the Tribe calls for payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) tied to net casino slot revenues.  Such payments tied to income of a casino have been determined to convey a propriety interest and violate the governing sovereignty of a tribe by the BIA and federal courts.  BIA will not approve a LIT based on an IGA which infringes on a tribe’s ability to self-govern.   Further, the Tribe commissioned a study from Harvard University to assess their ability to govern.  While Cedric Cromwell has tried to hide this study (along with his own personal history of loan, utility bill and tax defaults), the Harvard study results released this year found that the current leadership and tribal government lacked systems and transparency to convey legitimacy in their governance. 

c.    Environmental impact study – this allows for bordering communities and others with a stake in the Taunton River watershed to oppose the casino’s impact - including the conveyance of “super water rights” to the Mashpee Wampanoag who will use an estimated 250 million gallons of water per year for their resort complex – to weigh in and block BIA approval.

d.   Economic impact report – BIA requires impact on any state or local political subdivisions be addressed.  BIA has never approved an exception to Carcieri LIT application opposed by an impacted state or local government.  The State of Rhode Island started conducting economic impact studies as soon as Massachusetts legislation authorizing and giving exclusive rights to an Indian casino for Southeastern Massachusetts was being considered.  The results of the first of the Rhode Island studies were published last week and found significant negative impacts to existing employment and Rhode Island’s Narragansett Indian Tribe economic opportunities.  Elected officials in communities surrounding Taunton who requested to be included in the impact and review process and were shut out of IGA negotiations between the City and Tribe will now be able to submit concerns to BIA.

e.    Surrounding community impact – the Secretary will review and ensure that any proposed gaming establishment will not be detrimental to surrounding communities.  Any impact on social structure, infrastructure, services, housing, community character and land use in surrounding communities must be addressed including costs and corresponding revenue sources to mitigate them.  A study on the impact to Taunton schools alone shows the IGA having a $500,000 annual deficit in mitigating increased cost to public schools associated with the Wampanoag casino proposal.

f.     Off reservation acquisitions – for off reservation LIT applications the secretary must consider conflicts of land use restrictions (i.e., the current deed restriction for the proposed casino property) and distance from the Tribe’s reservation (Town of Mashpee) with greater scrutiny given the further from the Tribe’s boundaries (as noted, Taunton is over 50 miles from the Tribe’s Mashpee core governmental function offices). 

g.    Significant historical & current ties requirement – the Mashpee Wampanoag’s historical ties to Taunton have been challenged by the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe and expert historians.  The Tribe has provided no evidence of historical ties other than alluding to “secret” documents held by the current Tribal Council, but not available to other Tribe members.  As to current ties, the Mashpee Tribe’s own federal recognition application and current tribal enrollment ordinances specifically delineate the tribe’s boundaries as within 25 miles of the Town of Mashpee.  The proposed Taunton site is more than 50 miles from Mashpee.

h.   Other Tribes’ historical connection to the land – BIA has never granted a LIT application where other tribes have territorial claim to the land being sought.  The Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe has already announced their opposition citing their historical ties and claims to Taunton.

i.     Town of Mashpee opposition – The Town of Mashpee, where the main tribal reservation and offices are located, must also submit a letter of approval and consent.  Mashpee officials opposed the last LIT application by the tribe after reviewing and finding the Tribe had made false statements about agreements with the town.   The Tribe currently has tax related disputes with the Town of Mashpee and other concerns about their local plans.

j.     State of Rhode Island opposition –  Rhode Island elected officials, including the Governor and state's two U.S. senators have started the process of research gathering to block the BIA approval by demonstrating negative economic impact to existing casinos and development at Twin Rivers and to the Narragansett Tribe.

k.    Concurrence of the Governor (of Massachusetts) -  Once all of this lengthy process – estimated to be a minimum of three to five years and taking as many as 15 years  - is completed with a favorable determination, the Governor of the state must then concur.  Since this request for concurrence can only come with a final determination by the Secretary of the Interior and after the affirmative vote by Congress, the likelihood that friend of the Tribe Governor Deval Patrick will still be serving is nil.  By the time this hits, existing state commercial casino interests will certainly have padded the campaign payrolls sufficiently to ensure no competition crushing Indian casino which pays no taxes or fees will be approved by the next sitting governor.

2.    Deed restrictions for property in Taunton -  A group of Taunton taxpayers are suing to block the deal based on the covenant deed restrictions for the proposed site which require the land be used only for "corporate headquarters, manufacturing, processing, wholesaling, distribution and jobbing or warehousing." Retail outlets and cafeterias are only permitted as "accessory uses."

3.    Commonwealth of Massachusetts Indian Casino Compact with the Tribe – This compact must be negotiated and approved by the legislature prior to July 31, 2012.   Several legislators are already unhappy with how the Governor is managing diligence with the Gaming Commission regarding the Stan McGee child sex scandal – yet, McGee remains the Governor’s Indian gaming point man who is the chief architect of the Wampanoag compact.  The longer legislators are forced to wait to see this back room cut deal, the greater likelihood it will face opposition and delays.

4.    Massachusetts Gaming Commission July 31, 2012 deadline – The commission must determine that the Tribe has a reasonable likelihood of getting federal approval for land in trust.  The Boston Globe has characterized this noting “the Tribe has immense obstacles to overcome to win federal approval for a tribal casino.”  Given the above noted hurdles and clearly articulated challenges, such a determination by the Commission would be viewed as highly unreasonable by any independent review and subject to legal challenge. 

5.      Other delaying legal actions:

a.    Town of Middleborough – Middleboro officials have sent letters of opposition to the Commonwealth and BIA opposing the Mashpee Wampanoag proposal, and they have announced they are preparing to pursue legal options to block the Tribe’s casino development efforts claiming a breach of contract with the Town.

b.    KG Urban Enterprises – This competing commercial casino developer has filed suit with an appeal pending claiming the regional tribal preference is unconstitutional.

c.    Aquinnah Wampanoag – The Martha’s Vineyard based tribe is planning multiple lawsuits to block the state from moving forward with any gaming after being shut-out of casino compact negotiations by Governor Patrick.

So what does this all mean?  Voting yes on Saturday simply dooms Taunton to a protracted march alongside the fated Mashpee Wampanoag, tying up City resources and locking in lands which could otherwise be used to generate taxes for the city and real jobs for area residents.  Vote no.