FALL RIVER – The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on Monday proposed building a $500 million “integrated resort-style casino” on the 300-acre site that had been the planned home for the South Coast BioPark.
The tribe proposed building a casino, three hotels, a shopping mall, convention facilities, a showroom and a spa on land off Route 24 owned by the Fall River Redevelopment Authority.
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State law currently bars construction of a casino on the site of the proposed BioPark, previously known as the Fall River Executive Park, The Boston Globe reported.
The casino would contain 2,500 slot machines, 150 table games and 24 poker tables, according to The Taunton Gazette, putting it in direct competition with Rhode Island’s two slot parlors, Newport Grand and Twin River in Lincoln.
The Fall River casino would mean an end to the Wampanoag’s plan to build a $1 billion casino in nearby Middleboro, which voters there approved in July 2007. The tribe has the financial backing of Arkana Ltd., the Malaysian company that backed Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort and Casino.
However, the proposal quickly hit a snag Monday night when the authority’s board failed to take action on the proposal after nearly four hours of debate, The Standard-Times reported. The panel will meet again May 26 to continue the discussion.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a bill in April that would allow two commercial casinos and slots at the state’s racetracks. The Senate is slated to take up its own gambling bill next month.
Time to get Rhode Island’s ducks in a row and convert Twin River and Newport to full scale casinos or just wait to padlock the doors. Rhode Island might as well have a going out of business sale.