This story was update at 10:15 a.m. to correct the name of Scarborough Downs’ attorney.

AUGUSTA – Developers of a casino in Oxford continued pushing ahead with their plans after Maine’s Gambling Control Board expressed qualified support Friday for the legality of their chosen site.

At issue is a state law that requires at least 100 miles between casinos and other slot-machine facilities in Maine.

Board members struggled to answer the question: Is that 100 miles as the crow flies or 100 miles as a car would travel? The law doesn’t say.

The question is critical because Black Bear Entertainment has chosen a site for its casino that is 95 miles from Hollywood Slots in Bangor when measured in a straight line, and 125 miles when measured by a car’s odometer.

Although the board did not give a conclusive answer, members said they are open to the argument that voters in November presumed it would be “road miles” because there would be no other way to build a casino in Oxford County, considering state law’s extensive site requirements.

Scarborough Downs, which wants to build a racino in Biddeford, urged the board to measure the 100 miles as a straight line.

Peter Martin, a lobbyist for Black Bear Entertainment, said the company is now confident enough to submit a license application to the gambling board, a process that could cost a half-million dollars.

Black Bear Entertainment plans to build a $165 million, resort-style casino on Route 26 in Oxford, on top of what is known locally as Pigeon Hill.

That area of Oxford is the only part of Oxford County where a casino can be built, because state law restricts gambling facilities’ location in relation to hospitals, sheriff’s offices, fire stations and fairgrounds, Martin said.

An examination of Maine statutes and case law supports the argument that the 100-mile requirement is defined as “straight miles,” not “road miles,” said Cushing Samp, a member of the Gambling Control Board.

Still, she said, it could be argued that voters effectively changed the definition when they approved the Oxford County casino, because it would be “absurd” to approve a casino that could not legally be built.

Board members Joseph Laliberte, Matthew Dyer and Harry Stickney expressed various levels of support for the “road miles” definition.

They said they won’t make a determination until an application is before the board.

In a letter to the board dated Jan. 27, Scarborough Downs’ attorney, Edward MacColl, said the phrase “within 100 miles” had an unambiguous meaning before the Oxford casino referendum, and November’s vote did not change the words or meaning.

Moreover, he said, there is another site in Oxford County that would qualify for a license under the statute — at the intersection of Route 121 and Bell Hill Road in Otisfield.

Martin said consultants looked at that site and concluded that it doesn’t meet all requirements of the law.

Scarborough Downs has submitted a petition calling for changes to portions of state law that would block its racino in Biddeford, including eliminating the exclusion zone. Biddeford is about 55 driving miles from Oxford.

Martin said there is no need to change the exclusion zone because the petition also has language that says the exclusion zone would not apply to a racino in Biddeford.

With voters’ approval, Scarborough Downs can move forward on its project, whether the Oxford casino is built or not, Martin said.

“This 100-mile issue has no effect on them,” he said. “Why are they interfering? My inference is, they don’t want our project to go forward.”

On Friday, Secretary of State Charlie Summers announced that Scarborough Downs’ petition had 75,672 valid signatures, more than enough to put the proposal on the ballot in November if the Legislature does not approve the measure without change.

A petition to establish a slot machine facility in Lewiston was approved last week.

MaineToday Media State House Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 699-6261 or at:

tbell@mainetoday.com

 

Copy the Story Link