TAUNTON, MA—Construction has begun on a $1-billion Native American casino resort here. In approximately three months time the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will decide whether a competing casino resort can be built nearby.
State and city officials joined members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to break ground earlier this week on its First Light Resort & Casino development being built on the tribe's reservation land in Taunton. Initial work will involve some building demolition as well as $30 million in site/traffic improvement work.
A portion of the casino resort is scheduled to open in 2017, with full build out pegged for 2020. The project will feature 3,000 slot machines, 150 table games, 40 poker tables, restaurants; a food court with international buffet; and 24-hour café, three 15-story, 300-room luxury hotels, a lounge and performance stage, an indoor pool, nine retail stores, a 31,000-square-foot multi-purpose function room, five meeting rooms and a spa and water park.
“As People of the First Light, we are here to inaugurate the beginning of a strong economic partnership with the City of Taunton as well as the first tangible step in building an economic base for our tribal nation,” Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said at the ceremony.
Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye says the project will create 1,000 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs when fully built out. “Not only will this this help sustain the Tribe and their magnificent culture for generations to come, it will also provide a tremendous economic jolt to the proud City of Taunton and surrounding region, as well as boost revenues to the Commonwealth by as much as $2 billion,” Mayor Hoye says.
Homeowners near the project site have reportedly filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government's designation of the project site as an Indian reservation.
Meanwhile Mass Gaming & Entertainment is awaiting a decision by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on its proposed $677-million casino resort project in Brockton located about 20 miles away. Mass Gaming & Entertainment is an affiliate of Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming.
The commission should issue a ruling on the Mashpee Wampanoag's request for exclusivity in Region C (Southeastern Massachusetts) in conjunction with its ruling on whether it will approve a license for the Brockton casino venture. Those decisions are expected within the next 90 days.
Gaming Commission hearings on the Brockton casino project closed with a final public hearing at The Shaw's Center in Brockton on March 28.
TAUNTON, MA—Construction has begun on a $1-billion Native American casino resort here. In approximately three months time the
State and city officials joined members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to break ground earlier this week on its First Light Resort & Casino development being built on the tribe's reservation land in Taunton. Initial work will involve some building demolition as well as $30 million in site/traffic improvement work.
A portion of the casino resort is scheduled to open in 2017, with full build out pegged for 2020. The project will feature 3,000 slot machines, 150 table games, 40 poker tables, restaurants; a food court with international buffet; and 24-hour café, three 15-story, 300-room luxury hotels, a lounge and performance stage, an indoor pool, nine retail stores, a 31,000-square-foot multi-purpose function room, five meeting rooms and a spa and water park.
“As People of the First Light, we are here to inaugurate the beginning of a strong economic partnership with the City of Taunton as well as the first tangible step in building an economic base for our tribal nation,” Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said at the ceremony.
Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye says the project will create 1,000 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs when fully built out. “Not only will this this help sustain the Tribe and their magnificent culture for generations to come, it will also provide a tremendous economic jolt to the proud City of Taunton and surrounding region, as well as boost revenues to the Commonwealth by as much as $2 billion,” Mayor Hoye says.
Homeowners near the project site have reportedly filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government's designation of the project site as an Indian reservation.
Meanwhile Mass Gaming & Entertainment is awaiting a decision by the
The commission should issue a ruling on the Mashpee Wampanoag's request for exclusivity in Region C (Southeastern
Gaming Commission hearings on the Brockton casino project closed with a final public hearing at The Shaw's Center in Brockton on March 28.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
