Officials Discuss Mass. Casino Compact with Feds

The State and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe may be moving closer to finalizing a revised casino compact.

Gov. Deval Patrick says that officials from his administration and representatives of the tribe discussed a framework for a new compact with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington last week. Patrick said the meeting was ``pretty positive,'' but that some issues still needed to be resolved.

A compact the Governor signed with the Mashpee last year was approved by the Legislature but later rejected by federal officials, who said the state was seeking too high a share of the tribe's gambling revenues. Patrick does not plan to submit a new compact to lawmakers until he's confident the Bureau of Indian Affairs will approve it. The tribe has proposed a resort casino in Taunton.