The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, after a long struggle, remains the last tribe standing in the often bare knuckles contest to possess the only casino in southeastern part of Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s 4-1 vote to reject the bid by Mass Gaming & Entertainment’s proposal for a casino resort in nearby Brockton, which is 20 miles away and would have been direct competition.
That $1 billion tribal casino on 150 acres will have 3,000 slot machines, 150 gaming tables and 40 poker tables, dining, retail shopping and three hotels, one with a water park.
In 2009 the U.S. Supreme Court’s Carcieri v. Salazar decision appeared to threaten the tribe’s ability to put 150 acres in Taunton into trust, since the court ruled that tribes recognized after 1934 could not do so.
The tribe argued persuasively that since it had dealt with both the British crown after 1620 and the U.S. government after 1789 that it qualified for that status, even though the federal government didn’t formally recognize it until 2007.
So now nothing appears to stand in the way of building the First Light Resort & Casino in Taunton except for a lawsuit by Taunton residents that the tribe dismisses as irrelevant and unlikely to prevail.
Previously the tribe prevailed against KG Urban, which challenged the state setting aside a casino license for the tribe, but lost in federal court and then lost its financing for a casino proposal for New Bedford.
Then despite negotiating a gaming compact with then Bay State Governor Deval Patrick, the tribe encountered delays in putting the land into trust. This prompted the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to open bidding for the southeastern license (Region C) to commercial bids because it feared that the region might not get the economic benefits of a casino in a timely manner.
According to tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell, interviewed by the Boston Herald, crowed about the tribe’s current run of good luck: “Getting federally recognized when nobody said it would happen. Getting land into trust when nobody said it would happen. Getting the reservation proclamation when nobody said it would happen.”
He added, “The investor team investing money where (Chicago developer Neil) Bluhm said they wouldn’t invest money. We’re moving forward. We have a target of next summer, 2017, to open for the first phase and then we’ll continue from there.”
The tribe is backed by the largest casino developer in the world, the Genting Group, which testified before the gaming commission that it was committed to financing and operating a $1 billion casino. This obviously did much to settle the fears of the commission that it might be backing the wrong horse when it decided last week to deny the license for the region to Mass Gaming & Entertainment’s proposal for the Brockton fairgrounds.
Cromwell commented on a study that was commissioned by Neil Bluhm, owner of the Mass Gaming’s parent company, Rush Street Gaming. It had argued that the state would make more in taxes if both casinos were allowed to go forward. “The Bluhm study was very faulty by saying that if you had that casino the gross gaming revenue would expand. Well, that means you add more people to the commonwealth in order for that expansion,” said Cromwell.
He added, “We’re (giving) zero, but it’s going to cannibalize all of the commonwealth. The Brockton casino cannibalized all of the casinos and the commonwealth loses. We’re citizens of the commonwealth. We understand the intent in the law… The Mass. Gaming Commission did very, very well.”
Last week commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said that the $667 million project proposed by Mass Gaming didn’t live up to expectations or to scope that the legislature had intended when it passed the gaming expansion act of 2011.
“If this were a knockout proposal and a great strategy to lift Brockton, this is such a close call, I for one may have come down a different way, but I don’t think this is the kind of casino Massachusetts envisions,” said Crosby shortly before the vote. He also called parts of the project, “a great disappointment.”
Another commissioner, Bruce Stebbins, also felt the proposal was subpar. “I have some concerns about the strength of this application, and understanding the shot in the arm Brockton needs, that’s been very clear,” he said. “But I don’t want to make an award of a license to an application that, in my estimation, is just not up to the level of excellence that I would expect.”
Commissioner Lloyd MacDonald, the one commission who supported the Brockton proposal, said, “We’ve got a city that desperately needs economic development, workforce development and the infusion of capital in order to serve its citizens.”
Cromwell noted that the gaming landscape is now precisely what lawmakers intended, two casino resorts, one slots parlor and one tribal casino.
Cromwell told the Herald, “The only commercial gaming bill in the United States of America that included a tribal provision as one of the up-to-three resort casinos in the commonwealth. This is exactly what the Legislature envisioned.”
Of course, that only works if the tribe actually builds the casino, which means that it survives the challenge to it in federal court.
Crosby noted that, “There’s one critical variable in play and that’s does the tribe produce the product that it has promised to produce. If it does, I would guess that the commission would feel very satisfied with the way things worked out.” He added, “If the tribe isn’t able to do anything, whether it’s because of the lawsuit or something else, then we will have made a mistake. I don’t think that’s likely, but it’s a possibility. I just kept wrestling with how much can we count on the tribe’s commitment?”
Commissioner Enrique Zuniga held out that faint hope for Brockton when he said, “Circumstances could change. If we don’t award the license we retain the option to re-bid this years down the line or however long later,” adding, “I know that’s not what the city of Brockton would like to hear, but in the notion of risk there is a lot that we could learn along the way simply by preserving the option to award at a later time.”
Crosby believes that the panel’s decision to open region to commercial bids three years ago was a good one, given what they knew at the time. “All we could do otherwise was a plainly open-ended wait, which was simply not fair for the people of Southeastern Mass.,” he said.
Adam Bond, attorney for the Taunton plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against the tribe, says that his case is “a worthy case and a good case” and that it continues forward. Asked whether Neil Bluhm might withdraw his funding of the lawsuit, he replied, “The case goes merrily on.”
Clyde Barrow, an expert in the New England gaming scene, doesn’t think that lawsuit will slow the tribe down. He told the Enterprise, “The Tribe still has some legal troubles, but it looks like that project is going to move forward. If you look at that project going forward, the original intent of the legislation was to have one resort casino in each of three regions with a tribal preference given to Region C and that intent has been filled.”
Meanwhile there is no joy in Mudville, which might as well be the name this week for the town of Brockton, where once the hopes of a casino grew. Many call the casino “a missed opportunity.”
Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter reacted to the commission’s decision: “It’s a puzzling decision to me, it doesn’t seem to me that this decision is based solely on Brockton and Brockton’s application. Most of the commissioners kept referencing the land and trust in Taunton. I don’t think that should of really been part of determining whether this was a qualified applicant or not,” he said.
Carpenter said he was frustrated especially because two commissioners said that the fairgrounds were a good location for a casino and that Rush Street Gaming was a good casino developer.
“I’m deeply, deeply disappointed and somewhat surprised,” said Carpenter after the vote. “I really thought there were a lot of mixed signals as the commissioners explained their vote before they took it, with several acknowledging we had a good developer with a proven track record and a good location.”
He added, “If they acknowledge that we got the right developer and location, and we want it here, then why in the world don’t you issue the license? I guess the commission really needs to answer those questions.”
Carpenter told WATD news that he believes that the lawsuit against the Mashpees could stop their casino dead.
“Their decision leaves Southern Massachusetts with no casino, that’s a loss of $100 million in a year of revenue to the state. At a time when the state is crying poor mouth and saying they’re unable to fund projects and programs. They’re leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table for the commonwealth. At the same time, I believe, this drives millions of dollars of Massachusetts gaming revenue over the border into Rhode Island,” Carpenter told WATD.
He hinted that the city might join in that lawsuit in some fashion. He told 22 News: “Now that this decision has been made and the commissioners repeatedly cited the land in trust decision in Taunton as having changed the landscape for licenses in this region, I think in the very near future I’ll be sitting down with our city solicitor and our city attorneys to see what our options are,” Carpenter said. “If the decision is overturned in court, and I think there is a very strong possibility that could happen, I would think and hope Brockton would go right back to the top of the list for a potential casino in region C.”
Brockton city council president Timothy Cruise told the Enterprise: “For some of the commissioners to say there may be better economic development opportunities for Brockton in the future is absurd.” He declared, “For us to get $650 million of other development opportunities would probably take 650 projects in Brockton. It was a great opportunity to help save a city and region that really needs the help.”
State Senator Michael Brady, whose district includes Brockton, said, “I’m disappointed in their decision, I know there were some people in favor of it and some people against it in Brockton, but the majority of voters did vote in favor of it.” He added, “It’s going to be a tough financial impact. Brockton is in serious need for new revenue and jobs. This is going to set us back with the potential job growth it would have provided.”
Brockton has seen a 38 percent decrease in manufacturing since 2001 and almost half of the children living in the city are classified as economically disadvantage.
Wynn Boston Harbor
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission tacked on a provision when it approved the environmental and traffic plans for Wynn Resorts’ Wynn Boston Harbor in Everett. The provision leave open the possibility that the commission may require Wynn at some point to pay for money to relieve traffic in Sullivan Square in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood.
That is in addition to $38 million that Wynn is already on the hook for. Wynn is still not ready to break ground. It still must resolve an appeal of an earlier approval by the Department of Environmental Protection that has been challenged by Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. Since that challenge Wynn has put the groundbreaking on hold as well as any hiring connected to it. The appeal will be reviewed in June.
