AUGUSTA — The group hoping to build a new racino in southern Maine has loaned the campaign for Question 2 nearly $780,000, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state ethics commission.
Ocean Properties Ltd. Of Portsmouth, N.H., is listed as the sole contributor to the Putting Maine to Work ballot question committee, which supports passage of the Nov. 8 referendum. The question asks voters if they want to “allow a slot machine facility at a harness racing track in Biddeford or another community within 25 miles of Scarborough Downs, subject to local approval, and at a harness racing track in Washington County.”
Green Jobs for Maine, a political action committee to support Question 3, which would allow a new casino to be built in downtown Lewiston, raised $33,225 in the reporting period, which runs July 1 through Sept. 30. The group’s annual fund raising total is just $41,629. The major donor is GT Source of Kennesaw, Georgia. GT Source, which stands for Gaming Technology Source, provides gaming platforms, according to its website.
In a statement released Wednesday, casino supporter Dr. Ron Chicoine said that the project has attracted new investors.
“This project has moved beyond a local investment group, and we are happy to see the local community embrace it as their own,” he said in a statement released by the city council following a vote of support for the project.
Four groups have filed reports to oppose the gambling questions.
Friends of Oxford Casino is a new group that reported spending $40,113 on polling and voter identification. The expenditures are reported as unpaid debts and no donors or contributors were identified. The group lists an Augusta post office box as an address and the treasurer is Cynthia Robbins of Poland Spring.
The Oxford casino was approved by voters last November and is under construction.
Another new group, Mainers Against a Rotten Deal, reported a $200 in-kind donation from an attorney who helped file incorporation papers. No other contributions or expenditures were reported.
No More Casinos Maine of Ellsworth, a group that lists Rep. Tyler Clark, R-Easton, as its treasurer, has reported $4,740 in cash contributions for the year. The remaining cash balance is $972.
CasinosNo!, a long established group opposing gambling in Maine, reports $20,135 in operating expenditures for the year, but just $2,000 in cash contributions for the reporting period. Its cash balance is $761.
In Penobscot County, where voters will decide whether to allow Hollywood Slots to add table games, Penn National Gaming has contributed $100,000 to support the campaign. Penn National owns Hollywood Slots, and has also donated $175,000 in in-kind contributions, according to the reports.
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