Efforts by Hollywood Slots and two prospective casino developers to reach agreement on a competing measure to the Oxford casino that will appear on the June ballot have succeeded. But consensus within a legislative panel charged with approving the plan dissolved as lawmakers worry that backing the compromise might create more problems than it solves. The panel's 9-4 vote against an alternative means that the Oxford casino initiative is poised to go directly to the voters, where it will either be voted up or down.

After days of discussion and a last-minute compromise agreement brokered by the Passamaquoddy Tribe, Black Bear Entertainment and Hollywood Slots, time simply ran out for proponents of a competing ballot measure that would allow voters to approve three casinos in the state.

"I am not in favor of putting this together, simply because we lack the time to really see what the Legislature is agreeing to," says state Sen. Nancy Sullivan, a Biddeford Democrat who co-chairs the Legislature's Legal and Veteran Affairs Committee.

During last week's public hearing on the citizen-initiated bill to permit Black Bear Entertainment to establish a casino in Oxford County, lawmakers expected to recommend either enacting the bill or voting it down, which would automatically get it placed on the June ballot.

But a last-minute bid by members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe for their own casino in Washington County, and the interests of Hollywood Slots in expanding its current gambling options to table games such as craps, poker and roulette, changed the game plan for the legislative committee.

Earlier this week, they were asked to consider a competing measure agreed to by all three parties. But Sullivan wasn't certain that lawmakers had given enough thought to the plan that would be offered by the Legislature as something that was just as good --or better than the Oxford proposal backed by 100,000 Mainers.

"We're saying that we as a Legislature have even a better idea than the 100,000 people that signed that," Sullivan says. "And I'm OK with that if I really was convinced that we have the better idea. I haven't seen all the ideas to know that it's really better, so I think in this case, the people might better."

The sticking point for many on the committee surrounded a decision by the Penobscot Indian Nation, which has indicated in a letter to the Passamaquoddy Tribe that it is "not interested" in participating in the casino proposal "at this time."

Sullivan says that to proceed with a competing measure for the purpose of accommodating the Passamaquoddy Tribe could have the unintentional effect of blocking other Maine tribes from pursuing similar gaming ventures in the future.

"The United States in the treatment of Native Americans has not always been fair and just," she said. "And I would not want to be at the point where I put in a deal that at this time would potentially foreclose the right of all three other tribes to take part in something."

Four of the committee members got behind a minority report crafted by state Rep. Stacey Fitts, a Pittsfield Republican who wants to see Hollywood Slots desire for table games, the Passamaquoddy Tribe's goals and the proposal for Oxford County be presented to the voters as a competing measure.

"The basis of any bill that I would propose, or any minority report, would first and foremost be founded on the Oxford proposal as it was originally presented, and then changes made to that proposal in order to accommodate the issues for Hollywood Slots and for the Passamaquoddy Tribe," Fitts said.

Committee House Chair Pamela Trinward, a Waterville Democrat, said efforts by the committee chairs to obtain more time for consideration of the proposed competing measure failed, because the rush to adjourn the session is underway.

"I feel that given more time and given a different point in the Legislature, we probably would have been able to sort of grind this out -- and a lot of legislation here we really do grind out, and it's tough," Trinward said. "And I just think we're at a tough place, because I really do support all three of the concepts, I just can't seem to come to terms with some of the issues."

Peter Martin of Black Bear Entertainment, which is proposing the Oxford casino, says his organization tried to work with the other parties and he is now anxious to see the question go to the voters.