Casinos No! Fighting Passamaquoddy Tribe

The Casinos No! group is upset that a joint House and Senate committee, the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee, has chosen to approve the proposal for the Passamaquoddy Tribe to bring in a harness racing track that would include slot machines. They say they are opposed to gambling and do not want to see the tribe open a slot machine racino.

They say that the tribe is opening it in Washington County, the poorest county in Maine. The median household income for the county is 28% below state level, unemployment is 3% higher than the rest of the state, and more than half of the schools’ population was eligible for free and/or reduced price school lunch last year. They say that for the tribe to open it there it will do the most harm – for it preys on the poor, and gives them nothing in return.

The tribe says not so, and that by allowing the casino to be operated in Bangor, they can not only see that their fears were unfounded but that it is a successful venture. The tribe is also planning on giving back 41% of their slot machine revenue to the county, which will help it tremendously. They will also be bringing in much needed jobs, which the county is very excited about.

Their opponents are getting ready for a battle however, and they say that although there is a chance that the legislature may pass it and therefore there is nothing they can do about it, there is also a chance that they won’t and that it will go to the voters to decide. They say that if that is the case they will mount a large opposition campaign to the slot machine racino, and they feel they have a good chance of keeping them out.

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