Tribes revive Down East casino pitch
Two of Maine's Indian tribes have announced a proposal to locate a casino in Calais, making it their third pitch for a casino in a decade.
The Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation are seeking to put a proposed casino in Washington County on the November ballot, according to Maine Public Broadcasting Network. The proposal would compete with Black Bear Entertainment's efforts to locate a casino in Oxford County, which has been approved to appear on the November ballot. State law allows a competing measure to appear on the ballot, and voters would have the option of voting for either casino or rejecting both. The winning proposal would have to earn 50% plus one majority; if neither proposal won majority, then whichever received at least a third of the votes would go to the next statewide election on its own, according to MPBN.
Black Bear Entertainment spokesman Peter Martin says splitting the initiative means neither casino proposal will win enough votes to move forward. He said the tribes should be forced to collect their own signatures and put a separate measure on the ballot.
In 2003, voters rejected a proposed casino in Sanford pitched by both tribes, and voters in 2007 shot down the Passamaquoddy Tribe's bid for a racino in Washington County.
Go to the article from MPBN >>
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