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ME Referendum Ballot
Language Barely Scratches the Surface
Voters in Maine will be given the opportunity to
vote on what could become the state’s very first slot machine casino
when the general election is held on November 4th. Question 2 will
ask citizens whether they approve the opening of “the only casino in
Maine” by “a certain [state] company.” The ballot language mentions
that the proposed gambling establishment would be located in Oxford
Country, and that “part” of the casino’s revenue would go towards
funding “specific state programs.” A “yes” vote would be in favor of
the slot game casino, and a “no” would reject the idea. Sounds
simple, right? The problem is that the draft of the actual proposal
is pages and pages long!
Things that are missing from the issue wording as it will be set
before voters include the following. First of all, if the referendum
is passed, citizens living within the specific municipality that is
to be home to the new casino will have to vote in favor of it before
the last day of the year. The legislation explicitly permits the
casino to house baccarat, blackjack, dice, poker, and roulette
tables; slot machines; lottery and bazaar games, Bingo, and money
wheels. Currently, Maine does not allow more than fifteen hundred
registered slots within state boundaries – the new law would repeal
that, but impose the same upper limit on the amount of a lot
machines permitted at a racino.
The new casino would be the only gambling establishment allowed
within Maine for a decade. It would be operated by Evergreen
Mountain Enterprises, LLC, who are not named on the ballot. The new
casino would be required to fork over almost forty percent of its
income to the state, to go towards miscellaneous programs and
initiatives.
It would lower the minimum age to work at a gambling establishment
from twenty to eighteen, and lower the minimum age to play a slot
machine from twenty-one to nineteen years old.
Back to September 2008 Archive.
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