According to Maybank (Malayan Banking Berhad), in return for managing fees and interest income, Genting Massachusetts may help the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe build and manage its $500 million First Light Resort and Casino development.
Considering the lack of details, analysts at Maybank can only assume that the development is not a negative to Genting Malaysia, given the fact that it will be a new source of income, according to Asia Gaming Brief.
Tribal lands in Taunton and Mashpee, were officially declared a reservation by the U.S. Department of Interior on Friday, January 8, allowing the tribe raise their nation’s flag for the first time on their newly designated tribal land on January 11 and celebrate what they called the next step towards breaking ground this spring on their gaming project in Taunton. Prior to that, in September, the U.S. Department of the Interior approved land into trust applications for the transfer of approximately 151 acres of land in East Taunton and 170 acres in Mashpee for the tribe.
Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, first acquired trust lands cannot be used for gaming until they are declared a reservation under the Indian Reorganization Act. The reservation proclamation announcement closely followed the transfer of formal ownership by the tribe of approximately 321 acres of tribal lands in in the two locations to be held in trust for the tribe by the federal government.
The city of Taunton, Massachusetts became the tribe’s targeted location for its casino resort in 2012, after a 2011 state casino law authorized a third and final resort casino license for Massachusetts. Project First Light’s construction will begin in the spring of 2016, according to the tribe. It’s been estimated the project will create 3,500 full and part-time jobs, as well as 287 construction jobs. In 2012, an agreement reached between the city and the tribe guarantees a minimum of $8 million a year from gambling revenues from the casino, expected to open in 2018. The resort will feature a 150,000 square foot casino, an events center, 600 hotel rooms, 150 table games, 3,000 slot machines and 40 poker tables.