Decision could sour Mashpee Wampanoag’s casino plans

By Stephanie Vosk
Cape Cod Times

BOSTON, Mass. – The federal government has refused to take land into trust for a Wisconsin tribe backed by Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman, scuttling plans to open a casino in New York.

The two South African casino developers are also financing the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s quest to build a casino resort and have a financial association with Mohegan Sun, operated by the Mohegan tribe of Connecticut. The government’s recent action could have significant ramifications for the Mashpee tribe’s casino plans.

“The secretary (of the Interior) sent a message to all tribes pursuing Indian gaming,” said Kathryn Rand, an Indian gambling expert at the University of North Dakota. “It shows how there are significant political hurdles.”

Under Kerzner and Wolman’s deal with the Mashpee Wampanoag, the two would receive 5 percent of all casino revenue for the first 20 years of operation if the project were approved, according to corporate filings for Kerzner International.

In December 2006, Kerzner and Wolman signed a development deal with the Mashpee tribe, though the terms of that agreement have not been disclosed.

In August, the Wampanoag tribe applied to put 539 acres in Middleboro into trust. Tribe leaders are estimating the process will take 18 months.

If the recent decisions are any indication, approval of the Mashpee application will require not only a change in the federal administration, but a change in policy at the Interior department.

The Mohican and the other rejected tribes already have reservations, but the Middleboro site is part of the Mashpee tribe’s first land application.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act prohibits gaming on land taken into trust after Oct. 17, 1988, unless that land is part of or contiguous to a tribe’s reservation or it’s deemed to be in the tribe’s best interest. The law also allows tribes to build a casino on its initial reservation, a provision the Mashpee tribe believes will give it a better shot at getting the land trust application approved.

The Interior department decided a New York casino would not be in the Mohican tribe’s best interest because it would encourage tribe members to leave the Wisconsin reservation, 1,035 miles away, for extended periods, according to a letter signed by James Cason, associate deputy secretary of the Interior.

“The potential departure of a significant number of reservation residents and their families could have serious and far-reaching implications for the remaining tribal community and its continuity as a community,” Cason wrote.

The Mohican tribe makes ancestral claims to land in New York, saying tribe members were pushed west by European settlers.

The Mohican and other tribes will likely appeal in federal court, Rand said.