What part of BIG MISTAKE don’t people understand?

They’ve got the casino craze in Maine. This November, Maine’s citizens will vote on a casino for Oxford County.

The question to appear on the ballot reads: “Do you want to allow a certain Maine company to have the only casino in Maine, to be located in Oxford County, if part of the revenue is used to fund specific state programs?” – from the Portland Press Herald, June 29, 2008.

The “Certain Maine company” is called Evergreen Mountain Enterprises, that petitioned for the ballot question, and they will be the ones to reap the profits. And some profits they’ll be. The proposed bill gives Evergreen a 10-year monopoly on gaming in Maine:

“The initiated bill provides that, other than the approved commercial race tracks in the State that operate slot machines, the gaming facility operated by Evergreen Mountain Enterprises, LLC must be the only gaming facility in the State for at least 10 years.” – from the bill itself.

The idea is that Evergreen will give 39% of its “gaming machine revenue” to the state for several earmarked programs, including 4% for researching an east-west highway through Maine, 1% for a gambling risk and counseling program, and many other earmarks for student loan assistance, water quality improvements, property tax relief and many other issues.

It all sounds good until you consider that casinos aren’t just slot machines. They make a huge part of their revenue from table games, lotteries, shows, restaurants, and hotels. Without a provision for taxes on ALL casino income, it’s a racket.

“It’s time to stop saying no to real opportunity” for economic development, said Pat LaMarche, spokeswoman for the organizer of the casino referendum. “In a free society, adults should be able to choose what they see as recreation,” she said, instead of having the state make that decision for them. – from the Portland Press Herald, June 29, 2008.

What if someone likes to shut down local businesses as recreation, Ms. LaMarche? Surely, the state might want to step in. And that’s why Maine should reject this initiative. Yes, there will be jobs, but the higher-paid workers will not be from Maine. The company will claim that they need people with gaming experience.

The businesses that spring up will also not be locally-owned. You can put all your chips on national chain restaurants, stores, and hotels, which will move in and crowd out existing businesses. It will be like building fifty Wal-Marts in one town.

And that town is expected to be Stoneham, the existing location of Evergreen Valley, once a failed ski resort and today an attractive, little-known wilderness area within a couple hours of Portland. The building and swimming pool are still there. The story of the ski resort tells exactly how destructive greed can depress a town and a region.

To add to all this, the organization’s leader, Seth Carey, had to step down due to allegations of improper law practices. That’s what happens when you’re a bad guy. Mr. Carey also sued Wal-Mart and Hannaford to allow his petitioners to get signatures on their property, and this is the result:

“We are grateful for the over 100,000 Mainers who signed our petition and helped us take the first step in this journey.” – from the Evergreen Mountain Enterprises website.

I’ll bet they are. That’s pretty close to 8% of Maine’s population, and it’s no surprise considering this:

“Help us bring a casino to Maine! Gather signatures to get the issue to the vote. Flexible schedule! Work whenever you want. Earn 50cents/signature!” – from Evergreen Mountain’s post at thejobplanet.com, posted on June 2, 2008.

So the proposal has already created jobs! Somebody might want to check those 100,000 signatures. House pets and gravestones can’t actually vote. Evergreen’s earlier petition had a nearly 25% failure rate.

For many people, the argument against gambling is one of temperance against vice. My own opposition to casinos is the economic destruction they wreak. And this will be a mistake for Maine. I’ve written about Massachusetts’ own casino debacle here.

[UPDATED 10/10/08] The Olympia Group bought a controlling stake in Evergreen Mountain Enterprises in September (link here). Olympia is a Las Vegas outfit, and the town of Oxford passed a resolution to allow the casino to blight their town and region, pending the outcome of the ballot referendum.

“This is exactly what we need,” an Evergreen spokesperson told CPN. “The west corridor is mostly for ski resorts, and this would be a four-season destination, rather than just a winter recreation destination.”

Yes, I have never seen cars on Route 26 in the summer.

[UPDATED 10/21/08]

Mohegan Sun Entrance

Disney World Entrance

Logan Airport Entrance

Evergreen Valley Entrance