Town Presses Tribe to Air Details on Bingo Hall

<p>Aquinnah selectmen are asking the Wampanoag tribe to confirm a list of details about a planned bingo hall. And the selectmen want a response by Tuesday.</p>

Aquinnah selectmen are asking the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah (Gay Head) to confirm a list of details about a planned bingo hall on tribal land in the town.

And the selectmen want a response by Tuesday.

In a Jan. 8 letter sent by email to tribal chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, selectmen ask for confirmation on a number of details that they say were discussed in a December meeting with selectman Jim Newman, town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport and Ms. Andrews-Maltais.

Those details include:

• The bingo hall will be built on the former Weiner property, acquired by the tribe for $1.15 million in 2014 and later taken into federal trust. The property has an address of 20 Black Brook Road but also has frontage on State Road.

• The facility will be so-called Sprung construction, a trademark construction company that builds tensioned fabric structures with an aluminum skeleton that can go up in a few weeks. A website for Sprung lists casinos and bingo parlors as examples of previous work.

• The gambling facility will be approximately 10,000 square feet in size and will house about 250 gambling machines.

• No restaurant is planned, but food service will be provided from food trucks.

The letter points out other details that remain unknown, including parking, hours of operation, bathrooms and intensity of use on the property.

“It is also our understanding that you do not intend to seek any permits from the town, other than a beer and wine license, or from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission,” the letter says.

Selectmen invite the tribe to discuss the potential public safety needs that would come with a gambling facility, including fire, police, and EMT services.

“We look forward to hearing from you on or before Jan. 15 . . . . and again invite you to meet with us to discuss the proposed facility and the related safety needs that would arise,” the letter concludes.

Ms. Andrews-Maltais did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The tribe won the right to conduct gambling on tribal land a year ago this month, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a federal court ruling that had cleared the way for the bingo hall.

The tribe announced in August that it would partner with Global Gaming Solutions, the Oklahoma-based gaming arm the Chickasaw Nation, to build the facility. The Chickasaw Nation has designed and opened more than 30 casinos, including those with electronic games.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 01/14/2019 - 07:48

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John Edgartown

Warm up the car honey, we're heading out to drop some change in the tent, have some food from a styrofoam box and a visit to the "Port-O-Let". Worth he ride from anywhere....

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 01/14/2019 - 09:24

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Jim

Will a fabric wrapped building be warm enough to be used year round?

also:
Will it be able to withstand the Aquinnah winds/storms?

MikeD WT

A fabric tensil structure
Sounds temporary
Will look like a circus- which it probably will be
Also sounds like bad design advise

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 01/14/2019 - 13:14

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Year Rounder West Tisbury

I am wondering if there will be a proper traffic study commissioned by either the Tribe or their Chickasaw gaming partner to determine how many cars and buses will have to arrive daily to make the casino profitable, or at least sustainable. It would be nice to know how much vehicle traffic can be expected on essentially one road from Chilmark center.

Also, I am wondering if the casino is financially successful will there be a plan to add some kind of a restaurant inside. Relying on food trucks twelve months a year seems a little bit of a stretch.

Rosalia Milone Charlestown/Edgartown

Rarely do I comment on any articles, unless I am struck by amazement or confusion.
This is the craziest idea yet to be proposed on the Island, which I sincerely love.
DOA indeed.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 01/15/2019 - 07:37

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Doug West Chilmark

Before going forward with this, I only hope the tribe will seek Moshup's blessing of their plan. Surely they haven't yet done that.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/16/2019 - 02:37

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LA Boston/Edgartown

It takes 1 hour and 10 minutes to get from Woods Hole to the Plainridge casino. Even if you lived next door to the terminal, why would you deal with the hassle and expense of the ferry, followed by a 30 minute drive to get to Aquinnah when you can just hop in the car to Plainville? The only folks who are closer than residents of Wood Hole are the teeming hoards of full time Vineyard residents. Can they support this gambling venture year round? Even in the summer, who will be willing to pay what it takes to stay overnight on the island to play bingo and slots in a tent in the sandy woods with no view of the ocean and eat at a food truck? Who would make a day trip to do the same when they can get to Plainville from Boston, Providence or Worcester in under an hour? I don't get it.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/20/2019 - 01:59

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Hello Oak Bluffs

I will be first in line to drop a few bucks and buy a t-shirt. Maybe I can win a few bucks to help with the increasing tax burden. I see the duplicative taxes and rediculous costs of living on MV as a lot worse than a bingo hall. Maybe it is time for the tribe to make a few bucks.

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