. . . the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts is switching its financial backers.  The Tribe had partnered with Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman back in 2007, but now have reached a tentative deal with Arkana Limited, a company affiliated with the Genting Group.

Sol Kerzner is a hotel and casino mogul from South Africa, best known for his Sun City resort in his home country and the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas.  Len Wolman, also from South Africa, is the chairman and CEO of Connecticut-based Waterford Group, a hotel and gaming development company.  Kerzner and Wolman also developed and managed the Mohegan Tribe's Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut through a joint venture with the Tribe, known as Trading Cove Associates.  The management part of the deal expired (IGRA sets time limits on outside management), but Kerzner and Wolman continue to profit from the casino -- reportedly reaping $1 billion through a deal that some have criticized as an end-run around IGRA's requirement that the tribe be the primary beneficiary of the gaming operation.

And then there's the Genting Group.  It bills itself as Malaysia's leading corporation and one of Asia's best managed multinational corporations.

More tomorrow . . . .