Hopes that the Mashpee Wampanoags have for a casino got a big lift on March 12. That’s when Interior Department Solicitor Hilary Tompkins ruled that tribes not recognized before 1934 weren’t excluded from casino eligibility. In her interpretation of the Supreme Court‘s Carcieri v. Salazar case, Tompkins seized upon the phrase “under federal jurisdiction.” Jurisdiction and recognition, she argues, are two very different things. If Tompkins’ ruling stands, the Mashpee Wamps can get on with the business of having land taken into trust — the biggest obstacle to their hopes of getting a Massachusetts casino. It still has to prove ancestral ties to the Taunton area but it has a compact with Gov. Deval Patrick, so this news comes as a big game-changer, removing the need for a “Carcieri fix” in Congress, something that has never come to a boil.
Closer to Boston and as S&G predicted, Suffolk Downs plans to pull down “decrepit, manure-strewn racehorse barns” to make room for a Mohegan Sun casino. That may not play well with historic preservationists. The clubhouse, racing oval and grandstand date back to 1935. Diluting that venerable bloc with a new casino (and demolishing old barns) could imperil Suffolk Downs’ historical standing. “[D]emolition of all or part of the property and the introduction of visual elements that are out of character with and will alter the setting of the property,” wrote Massachusetts Historic Commission Director Brona Simon. So while Steve Wynn is sorting out the environmental issues on his former industrial site in Everett, Sufffolk Downs will be tangled in mitigation paperwork.
Suffolk Downs COO Chip Tuttle responded to the MHC with a bit of muted brinkmanship, saying that “[T]he only opportunity for that preservation is the success of the Mohegan Sun’s proposal.” Translation: Play ball with us or we’ll demolish the whole track. Suffolk Downs may not have to preserve the barns but it might have to document them for future generations. A third option is ” a No Build, adaptive reuse of existing structures,” which seems hopelessly unrealistic, given the circumstances.
* What do Boyd Gaming, Tamares Group, Derek Stevens, Terry Caudill, Tilman Fertitta and Goldman Sachs have in common? They all own off-Strip casinos that could be struck by the Culinary Union, ranging from The D to the sorry Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. The offer that the union is making contains additional workplace-safety provisions but also incentives for hiring additional workers. Whether casino owners should be worried is a good question, since the strike vote has been postponed at least once. Caesars Entertainment is one of the companies that has come to terms with the Culinary but it could see pickets outside the Flamingo, where the Margaritaville casino hasn’t agreed to union terms — at least not yet.
“It was somewhat predictable that Graton would have a significant effect on the local market, particularly because they dedicated an enormous amount of resources to their casino, and the other casinos in the general vicinity don’t have the same resources or appealing location,” says Thunder Valley Casino representative Doug Elmerts. (River Rock has one-tenth the table games of Graton and 1,200 slots to the newcomer’s 3,000.) Station-funded marketing campaigns are described as pulverizing River Rock with “shock and awe.”
River Rock may have to look in the mirror when assigning blame. Its casino is a sprung structure — a sorry excuse in this era of tribal gaming. Graton is described as an airy, state-of-the-art facility. It need make no apologies if it’s fielding a superior product. At least River Rock can boast a buffet (a Graton oversight) and no ATM fees. There’s also no dress code — Graton has one, which may not be a bad thing. The Dry Creek Rancheria maintains it can keep paying down debt and has the remaining tribal government has no intention of cutting its own salaries. Given the current situation, the name “Dry Creek” is uncomfortably apt. It’s paying the price now for not keeping up with the Joneses.
