Martha’s Vineyard Tribe Appeals Ruling Against Gambling Hall

BOSTON (AP) — A native American tribe on Martha’s Vineyard is appealing a federal judge’s decision to block them from building a gambling hall on the island.

The Aquinnah Wampanoag filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Monday.

The appeal challenges a November decision by U.S. District Judge Dennis Saylor in favor of the town of Aquinnah and the state, which had jointly taken the tribe to court to block the gambling development. The appeal had been expected.

The notice does not detail the federally-recognized tribe’s arguments for seeking the appeal. Those arguments will be presented in later court filings.

The tribe had proposed turning an unfinished community center on its land into a gambling facility housing hundreds of electronic betting machines.