Developer spearheads effort to open new casino in Maine
<< Back
Maine
Maine [Enlarge Image]
By Gene Koprowski
A Las Vegas developer announced this week it will spearhead a referendum drive for a casino in Oxford County, Maine.  The developer pledged to spend $100 million to make it a reality if state voters give their approval in seven weeks.


The Olympia Group has purchased Evergreen Mountain Enterprises from Rumford lawyer Seth Carey, who abandoned the campaign following personal problems.

Former gubernatorial candidate, Pat LaMarche resurfaced as casino campaign spokeswoman with an impassioned plea for economic development in Oxford County and an attack on casino critics she accused of using scare tactics and spreading "lies."

Dean Harrold, vice chairman of Olympia Gaming, asked people to get beyond outdated stereotypes about casino gambling and instead focus on the economic benefit. The casino project would create 800 jobs with good wages and benefits in a part of the state that needs it, he said. The project is less risky, it seems, that some of the mortgage backed securities floated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose executives, Franklin Raines, and Jamie Gorelick, are backing Barack Hussein Obama for president.

"It's not about gaming . It's not about resorts. That's not what this is about. This is about jobs, this is about Maine and that's the reason we're here," Harold said.

Olympia's arrival gave new life to a moribund referendum campaign that collapsed with the departure of Carey, who's accused of misconduct in his legal practice, and LaMarche.
LaMarche, who has run for Maine governor and U.S. vice president as a member of the Green party, said she agreed to return to the campaign once Olympia entered the picture.

The company also holds permits to develop another five casinos in Nevada .
"We're known for getting it right and doing it right, and I assure you this, that when we come to Maine, we'll do it right here," said Harrold, whose previous positions before joining Olympia included a stint as president and chief operating officer at Caesar's Palace.

As for Carey, he will have no role in Olympia's decision making, but he'll remain as a minority investor in the casino project .
So far, Olympia has not settled on a location for the proposed casino, but says it would include table games as well as slot machines. The goal is to announce a preferred site before the Nov. 4 election, Harrold said.

Dennis Bailey from Casinos No! said he thinks Mainers are no more interested in allowing a large casino now than they were in 2003 when they rejected a tribal-based casino in Sanford.
"The Oxford County casino proposal was sold to Maine voters and the petition signers as a Maine-owned and operated casino," he said.




© Copyright 2008 Online Casino Crawler This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
[ Back ]

Features
Casino Tales-All about casino games, tips of your favorite online casino right here...
“Why Gamble Online?”: There are some ways to gamble, in a land based casino or online casino. Right now we are going to give you  some reasons why it is better to do it online. More...

Casino Glossary: Find out gambling terms, terminology used by the professionals. More…


SlotsPlus
We had a winner!!!
Janet M.
of Switzerland
Hit the Jackpot $133,293.48
in Slotsplus



Bonus Codes: The nice thing about an emerging & competitive industry is that consumers tend to get courted rather nicely. What bonus did you received? Learn More...

Cash-Out Options: In an actual casino cardroom, the term cash out is fairly literal. Learn More…
Read more articles related with the marvelous world of Online
Casinos here...
Progressive Games @
Las Vegas USA Casino

Feel in Las Vegas at
Vegas Casino Online