Just one week ago, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe appeared to be back in the driver's seat on the state's casino gambling bus.

But as quickly as a slot machine can eat up 20 bucks, the Cape Cod tribe once again appears to be fighting for its gambling life.

Competing bills

House:

·                                 Two resort casinos

·                                 Slots at the tracks

·                                 No designated regions of state

·                                 No special consideration for federally recognized tribes

·                                 14-member gambling advisory board; no representation from tribes

·                                 $100 million license fee

·                                 State receives 25 percent of gross gambling revenues

Senate:

·                                 Three resort casinos

·                                 No slots at tracks

·                                 Three regions, each with one casino

·                                 No special consideration for federally recognized tribes

·                                 14-member gambling advisory board; one representative from a federally recognized tribe

·                                 $75 million license fee

·                                 State receives 25 percent of gross gambling revenues

Source: House 4591 and Senate 2495

In a bill filed by the Senate yesterday to license three resort-style casinos in the state, one of the licenses is no longer designated for a qualified federally recognized tribe.

That's something the Senate intended to include, but during a public hearing last week, objections were raised about giving one applicant in the process an advantage, state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, the Senate's point man on casinos, said.

"We wanted a fair, open and competitive process," said Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which ironed out the final details of the bill.

The bill does ask applicants to disclose whether they are working with a federally recognized tribe but offers no "preference," Rosenberg said. There's a similar reference to the tribes in the House approved bill.

A silver lining for the tribes is that the bill allows the governor to enter into a compact with them and provide a permanent, exclusive license if they are a successful bidder and waive their sovereign rights as it pertains to gaming.

"We realize this is still a very big issue," he said of the tribe's federal rights. "I think we found the balance."

Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, issued a statement saying the tribe is still reviewing the final bill.

Both the Mashpee tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) testified at last week's hearing. The two tribes are eyeing separate casino deals in Fall River.

Though federal law permits Indian tribes to allow casino gambling on their reservations in states where it's legal, both tribes have complicated land issues. The Mashpee tribe's land into trust application is in limbo because of a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that blocked the U.S. Department of Interior's authority to take land into trust.

The Aquinnah tribe, which already has more than 400 acres of land in trust on Martha's Vineyard, gave up its sovereign rights on that land in a deal with the state in 1987 — though the tribe disputes that.

A spokesman for the island tribe did not return calls yesterday, and tribe leaders did not respond to e-mails.

The state Senate appears to be betting the commercial casinos will be up and running before the tribes can clear their federal hurdles.

"Right now they have no federal rights," Panagiotakos said.

Meanwhile, the Senate bill sets up a showdown between the Senate version and the one approved by the House. The key difference is the number of casinos and the lack of slots at the race tracks in the Senate bill.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who has two race tracks in his district, is trying to save jobs at Suffolk Downs, Wonderland, Raynham and Plainville by allowing up to 750 slot machines at each track.

Seth Gitell, a spokesman for DeLeo, said the Senate bill is under review and they would have no immediate comment.

The Senate legislation does ask applicants to disclose if they would offer jobs to workers employed at one of the four tracks as of June 1, 2010.

Amendments to the bill are due on Monday and the Senate is expected to begin debate on the bill Wednesday, according to a spokesman for Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth. If the Senate approves a version of the bill, which appears likely, it will go to a conference committee to come up with a compromise to forward to Gov. Deval Patrick, a casino supporter.

Gambling opponents lashed out at the legislation yesterday saying it fails to answer questions they've raised about hidden costs, including what it costs to treat those who become addicted.

"It makes it impossible for citizen participation," said Kathleen Conley Norbut, a spokeswoman for United to Stop Slots. "They release this on the Friday of Father's Day weekend. The process is so compressed. I've never seen a rushed piece of legislation that's been prudent."

While the House version does not designate locations for the casinos, the Senate version sets up three regions of the state. Region 1 includes Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex and Worcester counties; Region 2 includes Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Nantucket and Dukes counties; and Region 3 includes Hampshire, Hamden, Franklin and Berkshire counties.

In regions 1 and 2, applicants would be required to build at least a $600 million gambling facility, while only a $400 million commitment is required in western Massachusetts.

Applicants would pay a $75 million licensing fee and successful applicants would pay a 25 percent tax to the state on gross gambling revenues, according to the legislation.

Ten percent of all gambling revenue coming into state coffers would be set aside for a mitigation trust fund to be used for gambling impacts. The rest of the tax money would be split between debt reduction, local aid and economic development.

The legislation does include a provision that allows the governor to enter into a compact with a federally recognized tribe. It also gives a representative of the tribe a seat on a 14-member Gaming Policy Advisory Committee.

The bill has moved in the right direction, Rosenberg said. "It focuses on developing a resort casino market so we can maximize jobs and revenue," he said.