Despite construction already being underway, a tribal casino in Taunton, Mass. was put into question by a federal judge last week.

According to The Boston Globe, the Mashpee Wampanoag’s planned $1 billion casino was targeted by a lawsuit from local homeowners. A judge on Thursday ended up agreeing with their arguement that the government had no authority to obtain land in trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag for the reason that tribe was not federally recognized on the time of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. The tribe wasn’t federally recognized until 2007.

“Our people was challenged throughout history and we're still here, living at the land of our ancestors,” Cedric Cromwell, the Mashpee’s tribal council chairman, said in an announcement. “I haven't any doubt we will be able to prevail.” In step with him, ancestors have lived there for the past 12,000 years.

The US Department of Interior will likely appeal the verdict on behalf of the tribe, the report said. State gaming regulators can even review the decision.

The tribe’s casino in Taunton is slated to have roughly 3,000 slot machines, 150 gaming tables and a 40-table poker site. All the resort had a completion date for 2022.

Earlier this year, regulators rejected a plan for a casino, also located within the state’s southeastern region, that may have competed against the Taunton casino.

The denied Brockton casino meant that the Mashpee Wampanoag, which negotiated a compact with the state, would pay 17 percent of its gaming win to the state. If the competing casino were allowed, the tribe would have paid nothing to Massachusetts.

Read More... [Source: CardPlayer Poker News]