Maine Voters Ready To Make Decisions Tuesday on Casino

Tuesday the polls will open in Maine, and among all of the other things that voters will be voting on, one of the biggest topics on the referendum ballot is about a racino.

The racino would be in Washington County and would be run by the Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe. The tribe is working hard to get the referendum passed as they have 3,300 members, and half of them live on reservations in the county.

The unemployment rate on the reservation currently sits at 50%, which means the added jobs would be a huge lift for members of the tribe.

CasinosNo! is opposing the racino and their Executive Director Dennis Bailey had this explanation, "We want to stop it. Casinos are not economic development. They take money from local communities, money that would've been spent on cars and refrigerators and turn it over to an industry that produces no product."

There is a consensus on both sides of the campaigning that something needs to be done about the economic status of Washington County, only the proponents of the racino feel they have an answer to this problem while opponents feel the economic growth must come from somewhere other than a casino.

Voters will vote on the issue Tuesday and the outcome will determine the fate of the racinos future in Washington County.



2007-11-05