A proposed casino in Oxford County appeared headed to defeat early this morning.
After a night of back-and-forth returns, 54 percent of voters were opposed to Question 2, a referendum question that would legalize a casino in the town of Oxford, and 46 percent were in favor, with 71 percent of precincts reporting.
Dennis Bailey, executive director of CasinosNo!, said the numbers were looking good from his perspective.
“My experience in these is, this is pretty close, but usually the trend sets in and it really doesn’t change. Unless some big town out there comes in one way or another, I would expect these numbers would hold for quite a while,” said Bailey, who was at Chicago Dogs in Scarborough with a group of about 30 people earlier in the evening.
The vote seesawed through the evening, at times very close, before the “no” votes pulled ahead and stayed there.
Pat LaMarche, spokeswoman for Vote Yes on Question 2 for Maine, said earlier in the night that the race was too close to call.
“I think at any moment it could turn in a pile of directions,” she said. “I’m not a betting girl.”
Both LaMarche and Bailey noted that a problem with a voting machine in Scarborough could affect the final vote. A machine malfunctioned, and Scarborough’s roughly 12,000 votes won’t be counted until today.
“It’s just a big ol’ conundrum,” said LaMarche.
Gov. John Baldacci, who has opposed an expansion of gambling in the state, said in a prepared statement Tuesday night that he trusts “the judgment of Maine voters.”
“If voters approve this gambling measure, my administration will work to improve the deeply flawed plan and protect the public interest of our state,” Baldacci said. “Regardless of the outcome on the initiative question, my administration will continue to work for sustainable economic development and job creation in Oxford County and around the state.”
According to the latest finance reports filed with the state, Olympia Gaming spent roughly $1.83 million on its campaign supporting Question 2, while CasinosNo! spent about $460,000.
Las Vegas-based Olympia Gaming took over the campaign this summer and has proposed a casino with an attached hotel, spa, restaurants, conference space and other attractions in the town of Oxford.Oxford selectmen passed a unanimous resolution last month supporting a resort casino for their town.
Olympia’s project would be built in phases and eventually could have 1,500 slot machines, 20 gaming tables, a poker room and 300 hotel rooms.
It was projected to employ 900 people and provide roughly $50 million to the state each year in taxes. It also was projected to employ 1,277 people in construction.
Olympia officials said that certain parts of the legislation would have to be worked on by the Legislature, if the measure passed.
The issues included provisions that would lower the gambling age from 21 to 19; put a 10-year moratorium on other casinos in the state, essentially giving Olympia a monopoly; and require that a representative from the casino be given a seat on the board of every state entity that received revenue from the gambling operations.
Opponents of the proposal also said the legislation was flawed, but suggested that voters shouldn’t pass it and trust the Legislature to fix it.
The Oxford County question was the latest gambling proposal to go to Maine voters. In 2003, a high-profile referendum campaign ended with the defeat of a plan for a tribal casino in southern Maine.Staff Writer Matt Wickenheiser can be contacted at 791-6316 or at:mwickenheiser@pressherald.com
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