Existing casinos in Maine try to keep the competition at bay

Las Vegas multimillionaire Shawn Scott, who is trying to build a new casino between Portland and New Hampshire, is getting some resistance from Bangor and Oxford, the only two existing casinos in Maine.

Opposition from the state’s two casinos and the organization of akin lobbyists protected them from competition for years. Bangor and Oxford are gearing up again to try to keep the new casino out. They’ve got the money to smother the opposition. According to public relations specialist Dennis Bailey “The casinos are the biggest anticasino force in the state.”

The influence on the state’s political process of the Maine casinos is shown by the success they’ve had averting potential rivals. However, Shawn Scott financed a campaing to collect more than 60.000 signatures in support of a new casino. If the ballot question is approved in November, Scott would be the only developer qualified to open a casino in southern Maine.