The attractive potential state earnings lead to a narrow victory in the polls for a Maine casino.
51 % of voters in Tuesday's election approved the proposal to build a $165 million casino and resort put forth by Black Bear Entertainment LLC. The casino will be built in the town of Oxford in western Maine.
The proponents of the casino have said that thousands of jobs and more than $60 million in revenue will be generated by the casino. This is not the first time a casino proposal was put on the ballot in Maine, but both the eastern Maine casino in 2007 and an Oxford casino in 2008 were rejected by voters.
Rob Lally, an investor in Black Bear, shared his thoughts on the change in tone by the citizens of Maine when he said, "I think what people saw was that voting yes meant we would create jobs - and that would be jobs now, not speculation of jobs down the road.”
Opponents say a casino will drain money and jobs out of the local economy while creating new problems such as increased crime and gambling addiction.
There are still a number of questions that will need to be answered about the proposed casino, such as where it will be located, who will operate it and even if the law that allows it is constitutional. The law does not just allow for the construction of the casino, it bans other casinos within 100 miles.