BOSTON (AP) — The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council has approved a new deal under which it will provide 17 percent of gambling revenues from a proposed casino in Taunton to the state.
The deal approved Tuesday replaces an earlier deal with the administration of Gov. Deval Patrick under which the tribe would have handed over 21.5 percent of gambling revenue to the state. The federal government said that was too much.
The tribe has been given exclusive rights to negotiate for a casino in southeastern Massachusetts, but the state gambling board on Thursday is scheduled to debate whether to extend or end a ban on commercial casino developers that want to open a gambling facility in that part of the state.
The tribe must still have its Taunton land placed into federal trust.
