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A Minor Setback for the Oxford Casinos

Posted on February 23rd, 2011

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After months of preparation for the construction of the new Oxford Casino in April, Black Bear Entertainment, the people behind this project has suddenly come across a minor stumbling block. Questions are now being raised by the camp of Scarborough Downs on whether the location of their casino’s site is legal or not. Arguments in interpreting the law on the distance between Hollywood Slot Machines have come into play since the rise of the Oxford Casino will mean trouble for the Scarborough Downs racino that will be built near the Oxford casino. Spokesperson for Black Bear Entertainment Peter Martin has argued back that the plans of Scarborough Downs in putting a site in Oxford County was nothing more than a con. According to him, Black Bear has taken the necessary steps in setting up the site, having professionals map out the area. Scarborough Downs’ efforts seem to be an effective way to move the construction of Black Bear Entertainment under the rug for the meantime.

The worst part is that Martin sees this stalling of the construction of the casino as only preventing jobs from being created in the area. This is a big deal, now more than ever, because having a casino will mean that economic activity in the area will definitely increase. This will be a big help to many people living in Oxford County, especially with the aftermath of the financial crisis still felt across many local households, not to mention the dropping unemployment rates. The analysis of the Maine Department of Technology has been released and it says that the office of the governor and the governor has interpreted the law in favor of Black Bear Entertainment which assumes the law to mean “road miles” and not “radial miles”. Martin said that this is merely an argument involving common sense and that the rad miles is far more applicable than radial miles since, after all, people use cars not. This question of mere interpretation has caused quite some stir in the industry since it has come just as the company has finalized their plans.

Scarborough Downs, has an ongoing racino project in Biddeford. Martin questions whether or not the company is willing to discard this to find another location in Oxford County and start construction there or is the company going to construct two racetracks. In response, Ed MacColl, spokesperson of Scarborough Downs, has answered that their team is definitely determined to finish the Biddeford project and that they know that they will have to change some state laws to make sure that this happens. This is because their target location in Biddeford which has long been approved by the voters last November is actually 6 miles out of bounds of requirements set by local laws. MacColl, however, said that if they are not able to change the laws in Biddeford they will have to resort to finding a site in Oxford County as a possible alternative.

Ironically, Scarborough Downs will now have to seek the help of Black Bear Entertainment in petitioning to change the law with them. The petition, if approved, will allow the two to operate at the same time in the Oxford County. Scarborough Downs will have to seek the cooperation of Black Bear Entertainment regarding this option and change the existing distance law currently effective in the area; Black Bear Entertainment has remained silent regarding the matter of working with Scarborough Downs to change the laws. The Gambling Control Board is currently conducting its research on the said proposals and decisions have been put on hold for the meantime. The team has agreed to further discuss the interpretation of the law whether or not it should be road miles. The location of the meeting will be at the Maine Department Office located in Augusta. This means that if the board decides that the mileage written in the law should mean “radial miles” then Black Bear Entertainment would have to work with Scarborough to change the law or simply find another possible location for their development. In addition to this, there are also other amendments to be made such as having casinos, instead of slot machine facilities which were included in last November’s referendum.