CasinosNO!

Vote Yes on 2 for Maine put six times more money into its campaign in the last two weeks of the 3rd quarter than opponents CasinosNO! received all year.

The two groups are on either side of Question 2, which proposes a casino in Oxford County.

Since Vote Yes on 2 for Maine registered as a political action committee with the Ethics Commission Sept. 17, it spent $552,028 promoting the casino effort, all of the funds coming from Olympia Gaming in Las Vegas, the owners of the project.

The Vote Yes on 2 folks spent $552,028.97 in 14 days. That works out to $39,430 dollars and 67 cents --A DAY. The report had one contribution, from Olympia Gaming and they spent their money on consultants, and it looks as though they dropped a little cash at every radio, TV and daily newspaper in the state.

The duo of Bailey and Potholm are most likely able to craft a winning message, but when your opponents are prepared to spend $39 thousand dollars a day, and you have a month left, it is going to take more than a winning message.

One month before the election, a lot of money is changing hands, moving from PAC to PAC.

PolitickerME.com will attempt to break down who’s giving, who’s receiving, and how it’s being spent.

Check back for more on the major campaign committees and those backing the two referendum drives.

CasinosNO! (click here for the full report)

Purpose: Opposes Question 2, to allow a casino in Oxford County

Three Western Maine ski resorts announced their opposition to Question 2 today, which upon approval would allow a casino in Oxford County.

Dana Bullen, general manager of Sunday River in Newry, said he would be donating money to CasinosNO!, the group opposing the ballot question.

Saddleback Mountain and Sugarloaf executives also oppose the project, Bullen said in a release.

Bullen wrote:

Making the rounds in the blogosphere this weekend is a YouTube ad from CasinosNO! warning against the proposed Oxford County Casino.

Unlike its opponents, CasinosNO! has yet to hit the mainstream airwaves.

Some of the points the brief ad hits, such as the bill allowing teenagers to work in the casino and not allowing another casino in the state for 10 years, the new casino owner has already come out against and promised to support changing them.

The ad also warns that 95 percent of the gamblers will be from Maine, and that profits will go to Las Vegas.

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:

The group advocating for a casino in Oxford County has begun its advertising campaign, with two ads running in heavy rotation Sunday.

Vote Yes On 2 For Maine is the Political Action Committee formed to support the casino effort, launched by a citizen’s initiative.

Last week the Olympia Group, a Las Vegas development group, bought controlling interest in the casino project from Evergreen Mountain Enterprises, a company created by Rumford attorney Seth Carey.

Related cartoon: Oxford County Casino Monopoly

The Oxford County Casino project has lost its spokeswoman, the Associated Press is reporting.

Pat LaMarche left the campaign today, citing “legal and professional issues” with Rumford Attorney Seth Carey, who is leading the initiative.

LaMarche is a former gubernatorial candidate and a member of the Green Party.

Carey is currently facing disciplinary action for misconduct in front of the Board of Overseers of the Maine Bar. He could not be reached immediately for comment.

Ethan Strimling’s campaign has returned a $250 donation from a Connecticut hedge fund, saying it was given as a “dirty trick” by one of Chellie Pingree’s supporters.

Pingree’s campaign said they know nothing of the donation, and public records searches show the fund’s founder had donated to Strimling’s interests in the past.

Strimling campaign manager Corey Hascall said the donation from Selwyn Sussman of Rye Brook, New York came after the campaign sent out a fundraising solicitation that criticized Pingree for taking money from employees of Paloma Partners, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Ct.