State, Town Appeal Ruling Favoring Vineyard Casino Plan

BOSTON (AP) — The state of Massachusetts and a Martha’s Vineyard town are appealing a court decision that could pave the way for a Native American tribe to build a casino on the resort island.

The appeal filed in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston this week asks the panel to reconsider a decision handed down earlier this month.

The appeals court had reversed a lower court decision by concluding, in part, that the federally-recognized Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe exercised sufficient government powers on its lands to be considered a sovereign tribal nation that can conduct certain gambling under federal law.

The tribe wants to turn an unfinished community center into a gambling hall with hundreds of electronic betting machines.

Tribal Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais dismissed the appeal as last-ditch procedural efforts.

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