What part of BIG MISTAKE don’t people understand?
They’ve got the casino craze in Maine. This November, Maine’s citizens will vote on a casino for Oxford County.
The question to appear on the ballot reads: “Do you want to allow a certain Maine company to have the only casino in Maine, to be located in Oxford County, if part of the revenue is used to fund specific state programs?” - from the Portland Press Herald, June 29, 2008.
The “Certain Maine company” is called Evergreen Mountain Enterprises, that petitioned for the ballot question, and they will be the ones to reap the profits. And some profits they’ll be. The proposed bill gives Evergreen a 10-year monopoly on gaming in Maine:
“The initiated bill provides that, other than the approved commercial race tracks in the State that operate slot machines, the gaming facility operated by Evergreen Mountain Enterprises, LLC must be the only gaming facility in the State for at least 10 years.” - from the bill itself.
The idea is that Evergreen will give 39% of its “gaming machine revenue” to the state for several earmarked programs, including 4% for researching an east-west highway through Maine, 1% for a gambling risk and counseling program, and many other earmarks for student loan assistance, water quality improvements, property tax relief and many other issues.
It all sounds good until you consider that casinos aren’t just slot machines. They make a huge part of their revenue from table games, lotteries, shows, restaurants, and hotels. Without a provision for taxes on ALL casino income, it’s a racket.
“It’s time to stop saying no to real opportunity” for economic development, said Pat LaMarche, spokeswoman for the organizer of the casino referendum. “In a free society, adults should be able to choose what they see as recreation,” she said, instead of having the state make that decision for them. - from the Portland Press Herald, June 29, 2008.
What if someone likes to shut down local businesses as recreation, Ms. LaMarche? Surely, the state might want to step in. And that’s why Maine should reject this initiative. Yes, there will be jobs, but the higher-paid workers will not be from Maine. The company will claim that they need people with gaming experience.
The businesses that spring up will also not be locally-owned. You can put all your chips on national chain restaurants, stores, and hotels, which will move in and crowd out existing businesses. It will be like building fifty Wal-Marts in one town.
And that town is expected to be Stoneham, the existing location of Evergreen Valley, once a failed ski resort and today an attractive, little-known wilderness area within a couple hours of Portland. The building and swimming pool are still there. The story of the ski resort tells exactly how destructive greed can depress a town and a region.
To add to all this, the organization’s leader, Seth Carey, had to step down due to allegations of improper law practices. That’s what happens when you’re a bad guy. Mr. Carey also sued Wal-Mart and Hannaford to allow his petitioners to get signatures on their property, and this is the result:
“We are grateful for the over 100,000 Mainers who signed our petition and helped us take the first step in this journey.” - from the Evergreen Mountain Enterprises website.
I’ll bet they are. That’s pretty close to 8% of Maine’s population, and it’s no surprise considering this:
“Help us bring a casino to Maine! Gather signatures to get the issue to the vote. Flexible schedule! Work whenever you want. Earn 50cents/signature!” - from Evergreen Mountain’s post at thejobplanet.com, posted on June 2, 2008.
So the proposal has already created jobs! Somebody might want to check those 100,000 signatures. House pets and gravestones can’t actually vote. Evergreen’s earlier petition had a nearly 25% failure rate.
For many people, the argument against gambling is one of temperance against vice. My own opposition to casinos is the economic destruction they wreak. And this will be a mistake for Maine. I’ve written about Massachusetts’ own casino debacle here.
[UPDATED 10/10/08] The Olympia Group bought a controlling stake in Evergreen Mountain Enterprises in September (link here). Olympia is a Las Vegas outfit, and the town of Oxford passed a resolution to allow the casino to blight their town and region, pending the outcome of the ballot referendum.
“This is exactly what we need,” an Evergreen spokesperson told CPN. “The west corridor is mostly for ski resorts, and this would be a four-season destination, rather than just a winter recreation destination.”
Yes, I have never seen cars on Route 26 in the summer.
[UPDATED 10/21/08]
Mohegan Sun Entrance
Disney World Entrance
Logan Airport Entrance
Evergreen Valley Entrance
14 responses so far ↓
Grampie // August 2, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Hello,
We have a new website that describes the Evergreen Valley Resort and Inn http://www.greatmainewoods.com/evergreen.htm
It is still under construction. The conception of the web site is very ambitious indeed. We may need a marketing manager or webmaster or something.
GB // September 3, 2008 at 6:30 am
Wow. I came across this comment after some surfing and searching via Google. We are considering purchasing property in Stoneham but now are definitely reconsidering. There is no way I’d want to buy property there (although undoubtedly it’s a good investment if $$ is the only consideration) if gambling (and resulting traffic and crime) are going to be a mile from my quiet getaway in woods. Thank you for saving us what could have been a terrible mistake! We will definitely wait until November before submitting an offer.
Grampie // September 23, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Great News! The web site “evergreenmountainenterprises.com” is gone! It has been pulled! It is no more! Your hot link to it is not working as intended.
Bad news: The proposed Oxford County casino initiative has been taken over by a promoter from Las Vegas, Nevada!
PS to GB. Buy! This casino will never go through. Check out the new live property maps on the Stoneham Maine web site.
Grampie // September 30, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Hot News!
The new casino resort will be known as Oxford Highlands and the exact location will be announced in ten days!
DEP concerns // October 5, 2008 at 4:22 am
Well, if the casino is thinking of locating at Evergreen Valley Resort & Inn, it would make sense in that the infrastructure is there (roads, power, land cleared, area for golf course etc). However, and this is a biggie, they may have problems getting approval because leading up to Mountain Rd. where the resort is, there is a pond/bog that comes under DEP shoreline restriction laws. For instance, the current road probably couldn’t handle all the traffic generated by a casino, yet they couldn’t widen the road since it would infringe on the shoreline restrictions (I’m talking about Little Pond on Adams Rd.)
Grampie // October 6, 2008 at 1:45 pm
I have been thinking about that road myself. The entire road needs reconstruction. It is full of repaired culverts, sink holes and other washouts. The parts in North Lovell are not much better than the parts in West Stoneham. Obviously a brand new entrance would have to be built. This is where the Town of Stoneham online ownership maps assist greatly. Check out the photo on the front page of today’s Portland paper of the narrows in Lovell.
We walk to Little Pond almost daily to watch moose, beavers, ducks, geese, turtles, and frogs. A great place. The timeshare owners have their work weekend this weekend.
latest update on casino 10/9 // October 10, 2008 at 3:41 am
So it looks like the casino will be in Oxford….
http://www.forbes.com/businesswire/feeds/businesswire/2008/10/09/businesswire20081009006042r1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/081009/20081009006042.html?.v=1
http://finance.boston.com/boston?GUID=6811181&Page=MediaViewer&ChannelID=3191
Woodworker // October 22, 2008 at 12:38 pm
I wholeheartedly support the casino proposal. The arguments against it are mostly spurious and without substance. In response to the point regarding the development of an east-west highway someone said, and I quote, “Yes, I have never seen traffic on Route 26 in the summer.” I can only say that Route 26 is NOT an east-west highway.
To the argument about traffic, I say look at the traffic around Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. That casino is located in a small town in Connecticut and the “traffic” on their two lane roads does not slow travel on those roads one iota.
“Jobs will not be filled with local labor.” That one requires no response. It’s totally and unabashedly false.
Get a life, people. Think about the income for the State. Think aboout the thousands of “Mainers” who visit the OUT-OF-STATE casinos every year. Their money IS NOT helping to fund any Maine programs.
Vote to support the casino………….
Maybe “Mainers”
myleftone // October 22, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I approve all comments that disagree and offer an argument, like Woodworker has.
About Route 26, the comment did not regard the E-W highway, but what the Evergreen Spokesperson called ‘the west corridor’ aka Route 26 and its neighbors, like 5 & 35.
About Mohegan Sun. You are correct, WW, the 2-lane road to it is not clogged. It’s a 5-lane road.
About jobs. If you are concerned about illegal immigration, that’s worth a re-think. For myself, I support immediate amnesty, so perhaps you are right that this won’t really be an issue for me.
In Connecticut, their government is running a record deficit, even without the problems on Wall Street (http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2234129620080922)
As a tourist myself, I have no stake in this. I will still sit in traffic for the ski resorts, but the casino won’t be the cash cow you hope it will be.
Colonel Kernel // October 26, 2008 at 5:05 am
The argument that locals spend money at casinos in neighboring states so we should build casinos here is among the stupidest arguments conceivable. Everyone will be better off when we stop flushing our money away by gambling. And that’s the truth of it. Whenever you hear the word, ‘casino,’ replace with the word, ‘toilet.’
Grampie // October 28, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Thanks for coming up to Judy’s surprise birthday party in Gilead.
Did you see the proposed casino real estate in Oxford?
I still do not believe a thing that they say. I still think that it will not be in Oxford.
Grampie // November 6, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Defeated!
Defeated 55% to 45% with 87% of precincts reporting. This is great!
It was a terrible piece of legislation. It scared me to death. I have never been to Vegas, Atlantic City, Foxwoods, Hollywood Slots. Somebody once gave me a lottery ticket. I took it to the store and had them tear off the back. My state representative watched my ignorance.
myleftone // November 10, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Great news!
Grampie // November 11, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Love that satellite view of Evergreen Valley. The algae in the swimming pool looks green from space. The ski slopes, tennis courts, and golf course are dormant and unusable. But our timeshares are great!
A speaker from the Maine Ski Museum will speak and show slides on the 20th at Bethel Historical Society and on the 23rd at the Center Lovell Historical Society. We plan to attend both.
Leave a Comment