Casino backer admits proposal is flawed

Dean Harrold: Official photo.There are parts about the Oxford County casino referendum that even its new proponents don’t like.

The bill has several provisions that have been questioned by the opposing group, CasinosNO! It lowers the gambling age in the state, allows 18-year-olds to work in the casino, gives the casino president a seat on every board getting profits from the project, and requires that no more gambling facilities be built in the state in the next 10 years.

The casino project’s new president Dean Harrold of Olympia Gaming in Las Vegas has come out against some of these provisions. Ray Poirier, a reporter with trade publication Gaming Today/Slots Today, wrote:

“Harrold admitted that the bill has flaws. He disagrees with a provision that would lower the minimum age for gambling from 21 to 18. He’s also against a provision to let the casino president have a seat on all of the boards and agencies that would benefit from casino revenues. However, if passed, the ballot proposal would have to be remedied by the Maine Legislature.”

Some have interpreted the bill to say that the casino would extend credit to gamblers, but Vote Yes on 2 for Maine spokeswoman Pat LaMarche says that’s not the case. Nonetheless, Harrold would not allow credit to be extended in his casino.

LaMarche said Tuesday that Harrold will go to the Legislature and ask that the bill be changed after it is passed. She expects the fundamentals of the bill, however, to stay the same.

Citizen’s initiatives are meant to be sloppy, LaMarche said, because the citizens don’t have the same checks that the Legislature does.

She gave the “bottle bill”, which established the bottle deposit, as an example of legislation written as a citizen’s initiative, and then changed by the Legislature.

This didn’t satisfy Dennis Bailey, president of CasinosNO!, who said the casino campaign Is “asking voters for a blank check.”

“It’s ridiculous to ask voters to put something into law saying ‘don’t worry, we’ll fix it afterwards’,” Bailey said.

This summer, polling data didn’t look promising for the casino. A Pan Atlantic Group poll showed that 51.3 percent of the public opposed the casino, with leaners included, and 36.1 percent supported it. 12.8 percent were undecided.

LaMarche said this year the project will be propelled by the success of Hollywood Slots in Bangor. None of the fears people had about the Bangor racino have come true, she said.

Also, since the Washington County racino failed in 2007, the economy has gotten worse which will lead to a greater desire for jobs in the state.

This year there will be higher voter turnout than in previous gambling referendum campaigns, which will work in favor of the casino, LaMarche said.

LaMarche said the casino will revitalize the community where it has been placed. In Bangor, she said, new restaurants and establishments have moved in and the city has come “back to life.”