The people of the First Light, The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, are hoping to put the Bay State’s fourth casino in Taunton.
The first phase is a tribal welcome center on Stevens Street, the size of a small home with 10 slot machines inside.
The Mashpee Wampanoag’s almost had a massive casino years ago, but it never got past their groundbreaking in Taunton in 2016.
“The 10 slot machines are only there to show what’s ahead; the idea is to hopefully move those machines in the larger facility as we do a phased approach,” says Brian Weeden the Chairman for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. “The original plan was to do a 1,000,000,000 facility, and at one point of time, the tribe was talking about water parks, other things, there could be smoke shops, there could be gas stations, there could be a host of things.”
The Welcome Center is having its soft opening this week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., where anyone is welcome to walk in and even play a game or two, but the grand opening for the center will be on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 10 a.m.
“When I walked in, staff was very friendly, everything inside looked great, it was about 10 machines and it was nice and fresh,” says Brenden Sullivan from Lakeville, who was one of the first to take a look inside.
There’s no timeline on when construction will begin on a larger facility.
Earlier this week, the tribe presented in front of Taunton City Council, but a final design is still being discussed among the gaming authority.
They do hope to eventually expand the welcome center to have up to 50 slot machines. City officials are hopeful this move will put the city on the map.
“It’s another great tool for us to attract people to the city,” says Jay Pateakos The Economic and Community Development for Taunton. They can come experience the casino, play some slots, go to restaurants, some people have never thought about Taunton and now they will.
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