'Gaming machines' included in new Taunton casino welcome center. What we know

‘Gaming machines’ included in new Taunton casino welcome center. What we know

Posted by Admin December 30, 2024 Gambling

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TAUNTON — Will gambling be allowed inside the planned welcome center being built in East Taunton on the reservation land designated for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s First Light Resort and Casino?

A new letter from Taunton Mayor Shaunna O’ Connell to the City Council, dated Dec. 23, indicates that besides “native artifacts showcasing the Tribe’s historical culture,” the welcome center will also include “10 gaming machines.”

O’Connell told the Taunton Daily Gazette in a written statement that, based on conversations with representatives of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, there will be “limited gaming offered at the Welcome Center as a preview,” though she didn’t indicate whether this “gaming” will constitute gambling that accepts money and pays out winnings.

Does tribe need any permits or licenses before gaming can begin?

O’Connell said her administration has met with state gaming commissioners who said the welcome center doesn’t require any sort of additional city or state approvals to commence gambling operations inside the welcome center.

What does Tribe say about gaming machines at welcome center?

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe spokesperson Steven Peters in a telephone interview Thursday, Dec. 26, said the Tribe is declining to provide further details on the welcome center, including its gaming machines, at this time.

Peters said previously regarding the welcome center: “Our new welcome center will be a place to learn about our history, connect with our culture, and see what’s next for our reservation lands. At this center, all are welcome to preview the benefits of project First Light and see what tribal stewardship of our land looks like.”

Peters did echo a recent statement made by Tribal Council Chair Brian Weeden, saying plans will be presented to the public in early 2025.

City requires Tribe to make public presentation about casino

The mayor’s letter said the city is requiring a public presentation to the City Council by representation from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on First Light.

“This presentation will outline the path forward for the First Light Project,” O’Connell said.

The city will also require a memorandum of agreement (MOA), which the City Council will vote on after the presentation, the mayor said.

“The MOA will ensure the Tribe’s financial obligations to the City are met,” the mayor said in the letter.

When will tribe update city?

The mayor’s letter said the public presentation from the Tribe is expected in mid to late-January, with the vote by the Council on the MOA in late January or early February.

Tribe cleaning up illegal dumping on casino site

Starting earlier this month, the Tribe has been working on cleaning up and beautifying the site, located at the intersection of Stevens Street and O’Connell way, to remediate illegal dumping on the land over the years.

2012 agreement requires Tribe to make annual payments to city

The city entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the Tribe in 2012.

Besides a description of First Light, as well as traffic mitigation measures expected for the area, the IGA also includes how much money the city will receive from this project.

In addition to a “guaranteed amount” of $8 million annually once the casino opens to the public, there is also a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement, which mandates payments for services like roads and public works. Non-profit organizations like colleges and churches often make the same type of agreements with cities.

Tribe owes city $2.4 million in back payments

The Tribe is currently late on four years’ worth of payments to the city totaling $2.4 million. The Tribe had agreed to make payments to the city due to the tax revenue the city lost by converting industrial land into an empty lot that could then become the site of a future casino.

O’Connell indicated in her letter to the City Council that establishing a memorandum of of agreement is not a substitute for the intergovernmental agreement, nor is the intergovernmental agreement being renegotiated.

“This process is not a renegotiation of the IGA but rather a conduit to a phased project approach. The IGA remains in place,” she said.

Years-long court battle

Shortly after the Mashpee Wampanoag broke ground in 2016 on the First Light Resort & Casino, a lawsuit was filed by neighbors in East Taunton asserting that the land could not legally be put into a trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior, based on the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

Despite the Tribe’s winning federal recognition in 2015, the lawsuit questioned whether Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe members could be defined as “Indians,” which is the requirement to qualify the tribe for trust lands.

The residents won the case in U.S. District Court in 2016 when a federal judge ruled that the tribe was not under federal jurisdiction when the Indian Reorganization Act was passed.

The Interior Department, which is part of the executive branch, then considered whether Massachusetts’ authority over the tribe could be considered a surrogate for the federal jurisdiction, ultimately siding against the Tribe and reversing the decision to take the land into trust.

Numerous appeals and new litigation would happen over the next seven years, with changing U.S. presidential administrations influencing the outcome in some cases.

In February 2023, U.S. District Court sided with the Department of the Interior’s 2021 reversal of its prior decision, confirming the Tribe’s right to reservation land. Then in October 2023, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled that the U.S. Department of the Interior can hold land in trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

In April 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a petition to overturn the First Circuit Court of Appeals decision — allowing the Tribe’s victory to stand and clearing the way for the Taunton casino project to move forward.