Sunday River, Saddleback, Sugarloaf oppose Maine Casino

[Johnskiismore]

On the subject though, I'm on the fence about opening a casino in a rural/economically depressed area. Casino's are fun, I've been to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun many times for bachelor parties, concerts, and to just plain gamble. Yes, it will produce steady jobs, but with those jobs it will also create gambling problems with local folks and other adverse consequences (local economy) in the area. Could be totally wrong, but something to think about.

 

[Talisman]

The CT casinos have been a bad deal for the towns where the casinos are located and surrounding towns. Sure the state of CT collests revenue, while local residents pay for the police, trash pick up along the roads and have to put up with the casino traffic, drugs, prostitutes and massge parlors. Revenue sharing to local towns from the state has been a joke and traffic issues go unresolved.

Getting to Sunday River will be a nightmare on Rt 26 if a major casino is constructed in Oxford. Financing may be a challenge with the current economic issues gripping the globe.

 

[hardline]

Alot more..Atlantic City is hurting for certain..with all the PA casinos and the Foxwoods and Mohegan sun

ac is a dump. its like the red headed step child of vegas. i avoid going there at all costs. you have the casinos on one side of the street and pawn shops on the other not a classy place.

 

[JerseyJoey]

Oxford Plains Speedway....site of one of the finest Grateful Dead performances of the 80's 7-2/3-88 :grin:

sadly, I was too young at the time to attend, but my brother made it. The town pretty much unanimously voted to not allow the band back despite the millions of dollars in economic impact the event generated for the area :lol:

.....us deadheads, always being mis-understood :lol:

Oxford Plains Speedway (7/2/88)

Iko Iko
Jack Straw
West L.A. Fadeaway
Stuck Inside of Mobile
Row Jimmy
Blow Away
Victim or the Crime
Foolish Heart

Crazy Fingers
Playin' in the Band
Uncle John's Band
Terrapin Station
drums
The Wheel
Gimme Some Lovin'
All Along the Watchtower
Morning Dew
Sugar Magnolia

Quinn the Eskimo




Oxford Plains Speedway (7/3/88)

Hell in a Bucket
Sugaree
Walkin' Blues
Tennessee Jed
Queen Jane Approximately
Bird Song

Touch of Grey
Hey Pocky Way
Looks Like Rain
Estimated Prophet
Eyes of the World
I Will Take You Home
drums
Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad
I Need a Miracle
Dear Mr. Fantasy
Hey Jude Reprise

Not Fade Away

 

[tekweezle]

On the subject though, I'm on the fence about opening a casino in a rural/economically depressed area. Casino's are fun, I've been to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun many times for bachelor parties, concerts, and to just plain gamble. Yes, it will produce steady jobs, but with those jobs it will also create gambling problems with local folks and other adverse consequences (local economy) in the area. Could be totally wrong, but something to think about.

i;ve been to casinos and in the context of pure entertainment, casinos can be harmless. however, most people don;t know when to quit. i think the Casino's kind of feed off the local population like vultures. as the guy said about the welfare people buying lotto and scratch off tickets, it;s like taxes for the stupid.

there is a casino in central NY called Turning Stone. the area around it is pretty depressed. I see alot of college kids and retirees gambling money maybe they shouldn;t be. same thing at Mohegan sun.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

ac is a dump. its like the red headed step child of vegas. i avoid going there at all costs. you have the casinos on one side of the street and pawn shops on the other not a classy place.

I haven't been to Atlantic City in three years..I was there for the NJ state funeral directors convention at the Taj Mahal..everything in that town is run by mafia unions but the corned beef sandwiches at Pickles on the ground level of Ballys is great. Because I enjoy online poker the most..I have no use for a casino.

BTW..the new Mount Airy casino in the Poconos is doing great but it's only slots and video poker...

 

[deadheadskier]

On the subject though, I'm on the fence about opening a casino in a rural/economically depressed area. Casino's are fun, I've been to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun many times for bachelor parties, concerts, and to just plain gamble. Yes, it will produce steady jobs, but with those jobs it will also create gambling problems with local folks and other adverse consequences (local economy) in the area. Could be totally wrong, but something to think about.

The problem gamblers really don't concern me. They probably already blow that money in the scratch tickets and numbers games that you can buy anywhere. It would be contradicting for the state to block the casino on those grounds. Ever listen to the radio in the state of Maine? Maine State Lottery is the number one advertiser.

 

[tekweezle]

there is a new slots only casino in Yonkers called Empire City. It;s not indian owned so I don;t think they get the same tax breaks the indian casino;s get and ar e int he same boat as AC. actually, i overheard from a bar tender that it's part owned by the family that owns the steelers.

I think they started off doing well but i noticed that the food and drink prices have gone up alot in the last 6 months. This is a stones throw from NYC and you'd think they'd be raking it in.

What;s this got to do with skiing? I don;t think its a sure thing that you will be raking it in for taxes when you are cannibalizing profits from your own locals. it;s certainly not the "free money" it;s made out to be.

 

[Vortex]

I was at the shows. It was the 2nd leg of my honeymoon. 1 week and a 1/2 in myrtle beach and a 1 1/2 weeks catchin shows. When we pass that place all my wife says is parking was supposed to be included, but the lot was full. Great freekin shows.

 

[ckofer]

I've always thought ski lodges could do well with slot machines-kinda like the Las Vegas airport. As hard as it is for us to believe, some folks don't want to ski all day.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I've always thought ski lodges could do well with slot machines-kinda like the Las Vegas airport. As hard as it is for us to believe, some folks don't want to ski all day.

As much as I love mad steezy vert..I can't resist sticking a ten spot in a slot machine and hoping I hit the jackpot..or at least a couple cherries..

 

[BLESS]

The land is cheaper and they are more likely to be able to twist the arms of the local governments to do what they want.

There's a higher profit margin when you can come in and be one of the biggest enterprises / employers in the area (even if it is low income jobs) and use that to leverage local legislation in your favor.

In New England casinos are a rare enough commodity that people will come to them no matter where you put them.

Also, putting a casino in the middle of nowhere locks your customers in. If someone came to the "Oxford Casino" they're going to catch a show at the Oxford Casino, going to eat dinner at the Oxford Casino. Somewhere like Portland, they're more likely to go spend their money elsewhere, particularly if they're losing at the tables.

-w

well said.



For what it's worth....Ive been to the casions probably 25 times since they were down here near southern RI. Ive never once had to wait in "traffic".


In general, theyre like an other potential addiction. If you're gonna have trouble with it, stay away. I know its easier said than done for some people.....nut I would think thats the minority, not the majority.

 

[snoseek]

well said.



For what it's worth....Ive been to the casions probably 25 times since they were down here near southern RI. Ive never once had to wait in "traffic"..

Rest assured if they put a casino anywhere near Oxford Rte. 26 will be a shitshow unless they make it four lanes all the way. These are Maine roads we're talking about, four lanes would take years. Most skiers going to Sunday River have some pretty good alternatives to 26 though.

 

[tekweezle]

that;s the thing-these mega casino resorts end up offering everything that the small businesses offer eventually putting them out of business. it;s not good business for the casinos to have you leave their establishment for anything.

so putting them in the middle of nowhere is fine with them, they will build up their infrastructure and create a mall of stores to cater to their customers. just don;t expect there to be any growth in the surrounding areas.

and when the casino becomes the main employer of the area, things will probably go downhill. those construction jobs will only last for so long.

 

[deadheadskier]

Rest assured if they put a casino anywhere near Oxford Rte. 26 will be a shitshow unless they make it four lanes all the way. These are Maine roads we're talking about, four lanes would take years. Most skiers going to Sunday River have some pretty good alternatives to 26 though.

even with the alternatives, I really think it's the traffic that probably turns Boyne/SR off the most. I don't mind driving four hours on a highway. Driving two hours on a highway then two more in bumper to bumper would push me to look to other alternatives.

 

[snoseek]

even with the alternatives, I really think it's the traffic that probably turns Boyne/SR off the most. I don't mind driving four hours on a highway. Driving two hours on a highway then two more in bumper to bumper would push me to look to other alternatives.

Yeah 26 is already a sucky road to begin with, 302 not much better. You know an acceptable road won't be built anytime soon. Both those roads are also kinda dangerous because of people desparate to pass ect...

Deadhead-from Newmarket to Bethel try 4/125/16/160/5 in good road conditions before frost heave season. It's at least a much nicer drive and you at least have the option of going fast.

 

[jaywbigred]

Pretty interesting: http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/neppc/memos/2006/brome091406.pdf

I personally think casinos are more likely to have a positive impact than a negative. Whenever there is a market for a potentially harmful activity, be it smoking cigarettes, drinking, drugs (esp. weed), or gambling, I am always in favor of legalizing it, regulating it, and taxing it. Rather than have Mainers drive to Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun, or gamble on-line at offshore casinos, keep that money in-state and tax it. Of course, what is done with that tax money is up to the voters and those people they elect

And for those of you crapping on AC, I have to beg to differ on a few points. I go to AC at lprob 4-6 times a year, mostly during the summer, and, of course, there are parts of downtown AC that are certainly rundown and not nice. But they are certainly no worse than Vegas. In fact, in my experience (= my girlfriend living in Vegas for 7 months right after college for training program for her insurance job, lived off the strip, visited her 7+ times), they are markedly better.

In any event, the Maine casino, being a rural casino, would not be akin to Vegas or AC, which are more urban Casinos, and contributes to the negative glam factor, I think. My experience at rural casinos has been overwhelmingly positive (Turning Stone, Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods, Seneca Alleghany).

I worked for a semester in college for an American Indian advocacy group in D.C. that kept in depth data on the economic impact of tribal gaming across the country. The overwhelming trend was positive for both local economy and local reservation quality of life. Exception existed, especially in unpopulated areas out West, but in those locations where there was sufficient enough population density and access, casinos, and surrounding communities, tended to fair better than pre-casino.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

How far is Sunday River from a major Highway..it's been so long since I've skied there..1997..

 

[WJenness]

How far is Sunday River from a major Highway..it's been so long since I've skied there..1997..

The way I go (26 pretty much the whole way) I spend an hour and a half on the highway, and then another hour and a half getting to Sunday River.

-w