Circulators hired to gather signatures for a petition to allow up to 1,500 slot machines or a casino in York County have finished their work, but accusations about how those signatures were obtained and whether circulators were adequately paid for the work have just begun, the Sun Journal reported.
Harness Racing Jobs Fairness launched the initiative and hired Olympic Consulting, owned and operated by former lawmaker Stavros Mendros of Lewiston, to gather signatures to bring a casino referendum to voters in November.
Circulator John Merchant told the paper that a check for payment of his work was returned for nonpayment. Merchant and a second circulator, who also said he hadn’t been paid, later contacted the paper.
Others told the paper they had similar difficulties with Olympic Consulting.
According to the blog Online Casino Elite, Maine’s casino industry — with two major commercial casinos operating, in Bangor and Oxford — is small and slow to expand compared with other states.
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