The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is suing the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) for the advances it has made in trying to build a casino on Martha’s Vineyard. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has made it abundantly clear that he will not violate a 1983 settlement with both the tribe and town of Aquinnah that prohibits the building of a gaming facility without a state issued license, despite the fact that the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) has given them the go ahead.
Keep in mind, Patrick and his Commonwealth cohorts aren’t strictly against the building of a casino on Martha’s Vineyard, a popular tourist destination for New Englanders as well as notables, like President Barack Obama, they simply want it done through the state. The filed complaint (see: below) strictly states that a gaming license to operate a facility must be obtained through the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
The Vineyard gaming train gained steam back in November, post election day in the Bay State, when a bid to build a casino on East Boston’s Suffolk Downs complex was shot down by popular demand. Days later, former Chairperson for the tribe Cheryl Andrews-Maltais made public a statement by the NIGC that opines tribal lands are eligible for gaming.
Technically, the NIGC isn’t wrong. The lands are eligible for gaming. It just has to be achieved through the Mass. Gaming Commission.
Once Andrews-Maltais lost her reelection bid as Chairperson to Tobias Vanderhoop, gaming chatter began to settle. Vanderhoop expressed his willingness to pursue a casino, though, only at the behest of his people. And of course, in accordance with State law.
Per the complaint, Massachusetts simply wants the tribe to “follow the terms of the Settlement Agreement by, among other things, abiding by all laws of the Commonwealth, including those laws that prohibit gaming without a State issued license.” Whether they opt to go all in and seek gaming, through the state or otherwise, still remains to be seen.
