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Private Gambling Facilities Coming in Oregon

Posted on October 16th, 2010

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The state of Oregon has had its casino gambling industry for quite some time now. This involvement in the industry is largely because of casinos currently running in the state, operated and owned by Native American tribes. However, this November, a measure will be put to a vote, asking for the residents’ approval for the first casino of the state to be owned and operated by a private non-tribal entity. This measure is getting a lot of heat all across the state. With residents deciding on which side to throw their support to, newspapers and local TV news has filled the airwaves with stories of the upcoming vote. While the position favoring the building of a casino has been dominating the spotlight for months, the latest weeks have seen an upsurge on the opposition making their stand more noticed, as the election draws near.

Supporters are optimistic that Measure 75 would find the public’s favor, with the usual pitch of more job opportunities, a boost in the tourism industry and the additional revenue for funding of state programs while giving the costs of operation to the owners of the casino instead of the burdened taxpayers. On the other hand, the state’s two largest broadsheets, The Oregonian published in Portland and The Register-Guard of Eugene have been on the negative side, expressing in their editorials that voters of the state should trash Measure 75, as it is, in their words, “economic desperation.” Moreover, the newspaper editorials also see the election as the “time to stop a proliferation of commercial gambling in Oregon.”

On the side of the pro-casino vote are Bruce Studer, a businessman based in Lake Oswego and Matt Rossman, an attorney. For several years, these two have already been at work on the proposal for a private casino estimated to cost more or less $250 million. Their prospective site is where the Multnomah Kennel Club dog track used to stand in Wood Village, a town east of the city of Portland. Sweetening the deal to draw more supporters is their claim that at least 25 percent of what the casino will earn will be allocated to programs of the counties, a number of cities, schools and the state, as per the instructions included in Measure 75. This could earmark a total of $150 million every year for the said sectors. Moreover, the investor tandem also claim that the casino they are proposing will offer more or less 2,500 permanent jobs in the facility and construction jobs to reach 5,000. The employment creation would allow a boost of at least $650 million per year in the economy of the state–$87 million of which would be a result of the payroll.

Last week, Rossman was quoted in saying, “This is really an economic development project.” He added that other states around the country have already opened their doors to private gambling, while others are due to beat Oregon to the punch by making it virtually approved by the resounding support of its residents. One of Rossman and Studer’s main opponents to their move would be a coalition of Native American tribes in the state currently operating a total of nine tribal casinos in the rural areas of Oregon. As expected, this sector sees the opening of the private casino as a threat to their facilities that are already operational, most of which are experiencing a lackluster performance because of the lukewarm economic conditions.

The spokesman for the Oregon Tribal Gaming Alliance, Justin Martin, maintains that his group’s position has not changed: they are against Measure 75 because it opens the state to profit gambling rather than hosting gambling facilities that directly raise profits for public programs, which are the main functions of the tribal casinos and the lottery. Martin commented, “They say 25 percent of the profits go to the state, but where does the other 75 percent go?”According to Rossman, operating costs are the main recipients of the money that does not go to the state. However, analysis by the Legislative Revenue Office claim that at least $128 million to as much as $230 million every year may go out of Oregon to the owners and bankers of the casino, which in turn will shrink the state’s economy from $29 to 88 million.