Oxford County casino proposal returns
A new group launched a campaign today to build a four-season resort casino in Oxford County.
Black Bear Entertainment LLC, a group of local business owners, said this morning at a press conference in Portland that the Secretary of State's office had approved the language of a statewide ballot initiative to bring a casino to Oxford County and that the group had begun collecting the 80,000 necessary signatures to get the question on the ballot in November 2010.
The piece of legislation the group has written would make the Oxford County casino one of the highest taxed casinos in the country, with an overall tax rate of 42%, according to Peter Martin, the group's spokesperson. The tax revenue would be allocated as follows: Maine's Dairy Stabilization Fund would receive 1%, the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes would receive 4%, the host town and county would receive 3%, Maine Community College System would receive 3%, the University of Maine System would receive 4% and Maine's K-12 Essential Programs and Services would receive 25%, according to Martin.
The group distanced itself from the failed 2008 initiative to open a casino in western Maine by changing the language in the legislation. Unlike the previous proposal, Black Bear Entertainment's initiative would not attempt to lower the gambling age to 19, it would cap slot machines at the Oxford County facility at 1,500, it would not attempt to put the president of the proposed casino on numerous boards and oversight committees and it would give the Maine Gambling Control Board wide authority over its table games.
The group is led by Stephen Barber, former CEO of Barber Foods in Portland, and includes Jim Boldebook, an advertising executive who founded Creative Broadcast Concepts in Biddeford; Rupert and Suzanne Glover, founders of Grover Gun Drilling Inc. in Norway; and Rob Lally, a Boston real estate developer and co-owner of Mt. Abram ski mountain.
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