Casino news from http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/
RUMFORD — A local lawyer who heads up a new gambling venture launched a referendum campaign Friday to authorize a casino in Oxford County, as part of a plan to open a four-season resort in western Maine. Seth Carey, who is listed in state records as the registered agent of Evergreen Mountain Enterprises, said at a news conference here that the firm wants to build a resort offering a full range of outdoor activities, fine dining, Maine-made arts and crafts and "European-style spas" in a complex that also would include a winery, a microbrewery and what Carey called "a traditional gaming complex."
Carey offered few specifics in his prepared remarks or in response to questions, leaving at least one local official wondering exactly what he has in mind.
The secretary of state this week gave Carey approval to begin circulating petitions calling for another referendum on casino gambling. Maine voters defeated a referendum in 2003 that proposed an Indian casino in the Sanford area, although they approved a separate referendum that year authorizing slot machines at harness-racing tracks, with local approval.
Carey hopes to collect enough signatures to place the issue on the statewide ballot in November 2007. To do so, he must submit his petitions to the state by Jan. 25 of next year, according to Melissa Packard in the Secretary of State's Office.
Carey and his allies, who have yet to hire petition circulators, must collect signatures equivalent to 10 percent of the turnout in the most recent gubernatorial election. If his campaign submits its petitions before Nov. 7, that number will be 50,519, based on the turnout in 2002. The number will change if the petitions are submitted after Nov. 7, based on the turnout in the upcoming gubernatorial election.
Carey provided no details on who would finance the proposed complex, who would operate it or how large it would be. He said it would be built somewhere in Oxford County, but he offered no precise location and he did not display any artist's or architect's drawings showing what the resort would look like.
"We will have the money when the time comes," Carey said when asked about financing. He was no more specific when asked who would operate the resort, saying, "It's early on in the process and we're open to different ideas, but I can tell you it will be done in the most professional way possible."
Carey said he has not consulted outside gambling interests regarding his proposal. Eric Schippers of Penn National Gaming, the firm that plans to replace its temporary slots parlor in Bangor with a permanent facility there, said in an e-mail message Friday that he is "not familiar with Mr. Carey" or his proposal, "and thus would be unable to comment on it."
Carey said 39 percent of the resort's profits would be invested in "social programs throughout the state," including a plan to help Mainers who graduate from college here repay their loans if they stay in Maine after they graduate.
Information on the company's Web site says a share of the profits also would be invested in researching and building an east-west highway, researching and developing alternative fuels, expanding access to affordable health care, providing prescription drugs for the elderly, increasing aid to local schools and promoting government regionalization efforts, among other initiatives.
Carey said the rest of the profits "will be reinvested in the development and improvement of our facility," which would be built using environmentally friendly "green design components."
Town Manager Stephen Eldridge, who attended the news conference, said later he was mystified by the announcement because it was "very vague."
"The concept of a first-class resort is a great idea," Eldridge said, although he said it remains to be seen if local residents would support a casino. "Is this the person who can pull it off?" he asked. "I don't know."
Dennis Bailey of Casinos No!, which led the fight against the Sanford casino in 2003, also raised doubts about Carey's ability to follow through, saying earlier this week that he questioned whether a local promoter without experience in the gambling industry could succeed.
Selectman Greg Buccina praised Carey for "doing what he feels would help the area," especially because Rumford "certainly could use a shot in the arm" economically. But Buccina also said there are pros and cons to the proposal and he is still evaluating it.
Gov. John Baldacci has vetoed bills that would have authorized a "racino" in Washington County or scheduled a referendum on that idea, prompting supporters of that plan to circulate petitions to force a referendum in 2007. A competing referendum that also proposes a ballot question in 2007 would outlaw slot machines in Maine.
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