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BOSTON (AP) — A referendum which would have halted efforts by members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe to bring electronic, bingo-style games to an unfinished tribal community center on Martha's Vineyard failed to win a two-thirds majority vote on Sunday.
Sunday's 110-110 vote comes after the state, town and a local community association sued to block the project. Tribal chairman Tobias Vanderhoop says eight of the 228 votes cast were disqualified.
The tribe is not proposing casino table games like blackjack or roulette.
A federal judge heard arguments in the case Wednesday and is expected to rule later.
Tensions between the town and the federally-recognized tribe escalated earlier this summer when the tribe began doing work on the site. The town successfully won a court order temporarily halting the work, pending a decision in the lawsuit.
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