I have to admit that the twists and turns in the Middleboro casino saga have left me bewildered. The Mashpee Wampanoag entered into an agreement to buy 300 acres in Fall River and told Middleboro that they don’t intend to pursue a casino in town. Early drafts of casino legislation all had a tribal preference in one form or another – until the last one. The bill gives no particular preference to tribes but does include lots of language to prevent sovereign indian casinos.

Now I’d been hearing that the Fall River thing was a double-secret probation done deal between the tribe and the state. I always had trouble with this idea because I couldn’t see any reason for the state to give preferential treatment to the tribe. Without trust land the tribe has no horse in this race. There is no indication that they will get trust land any time soon …. or at all. Without tribal preference, I can’t see any reason for an investor to back the tribe for a commercial casino.

But back to point. This lack of tribal preference has set Cromwell off:

I think he should have also mentioned that the tribal unicorn farm would give them an advantage in tourist draw. This next statement has me a bit perplexed:

I’ve been under the impression that applications could not be altered – any changes would require them to withdraw the application and submit a new one. Either way, applications to the DOI to take land into trust for tribes recognized after 1934 cannot be acted on. Keep in mind that Cromwell will do and say anything to get a casino. Every statement must be fact checked. The strategy of Cromwell and prior tribal leaders is to set up an air of inevitability by sprinkling grains of truth in with liberal doses of what-ifs, best case scenarious, and outright fabrication – like when the tribe said that the Carcieri decision didn’t apply to them.
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So as usual, I’ll try to make sense of the facts based on my understanding of the casino situation.
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Facts: There is no tribal preference, no propect for land into trust, and Cromwell is pissed.
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Analysis: The state has wisely decided not to play ball with the Mashpee Wampanoag. If the unlikely happens and the tribe does get land into trust, the state has a bunch of options if the tribe refuses to waive sovereign immunity. One thing is clear to me – Massachusetts has zero interest in giving the Mashpee a casino – particularly a sovereign one.
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This turn of events has also given Middleboro a lot of leverage though history shows that BOS will refuse to act. The pro-casino majority on the Middleboro Board of Selectmen has blocked any sensible action since the deal was signed in 2007.

2 Responses to “Cromwell on the warpath”

1. Ebenezer Attaquin says:

   June 22, 2010 at 1:45 pm

   Well, you do have to kinda sympathize with Ced, after all, (unsubstantiated) rumor has it that he has bought a $million property in the Attleboro area, and then there the payments on his wife’s Lexus. Cut a brother some slack, yo?
2. bumpkin says:

   June 22, 2010 at 3:10 pm

   I’m told by my peeps that the application can be amended – and that due to Carcieri there is a certain fuzziness to the application. You can’t apply for something that’s not available.