Proponents of three different gambling proposals have tentatively agreed to combine their measures into one ballot question that would be put before Maine voters in November.
Black Bear Entertainment, which is proposing a casino in Oxford County, has reached a tentative agreement with the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penn National Gaming, the owner of Hollywood Slots in Bangor, to combine the three proposals into one ballot question, according to the Bangor Daily News.
The Passamaquoddy Tribe wants to offer slots and table games in Washington County, while Hollywood Slots is seeking to add table games.
If approved, the new ballot question would ask voters to authorize a resort casino in Oxford with slots and table games, up to 500 slots and 20 table games at a Washington County "racino," and the addition of table games at Hollywood Slots in Bangor, the paper reports.
The agreement is fragile, and would have to withstand what's expected to be a grueling political process. Some members of the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee, which oversees gambing issues in the Legislature, are expressing concern about providing enough time for public debate on the multi-pronged proposal.