The University of Maine student newspaper since 1875
About Us
Contact Us
Staff
E-mail Edition
home
News
Opinion
Style
Sports
Archives
Print Edition
Last updated: Thursday, Feb. 9, 1:34 a.m.
Opinion | Readers Speak

Letters: Hollywood Slots

Posted on Jan. 20, 2010, at 11:29 p.m.

Bangor doesn’t need Hollywood Slots

Michael Shepherd (see “Misleading ad unfairly criticizes Hollywood Slots,” Jan. 14) missed the point of our YouTube ad on the truth about Hollywood Slots, which is that none of the promises and predictions of casino proponents have come to pass in the five years since the casino opened. They promised jobs, they said crime would go down, they said addiction wouldn’t increase — none of these things has come true. Jobs have been lost, crime is up more than any other city in Maine, addiction is up, and so it goes.

Shepherd says Hollywood Slots is not to blame — it’s the poor economy and other factors, which is exactly our point. There is no evidence that Bangor is any better off than any community in Maine that doesn’t have a casino. And we believe the evidence shows just the opposite.

Shepherd also repeats the frequent error that half of slots revenue goes to the state. He better check his facts. Unless he considers off-track betting parlors and racetrack owners vital state needs, he’ll find that only a small percentage of slots proceeds actually ends up in the state of Maine’s hands.

Our YouTube ad relied on data and statistics from authoritative sources. If Shepherd has similar data for his claims that Hollywood Slots represents economic development and is positive for the community, I’d like to see it.

­— Dennis Bailey, UMaine class of ’75
Casinos No executive director

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010, 11:29 pm. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.

«
»
  • Joe

    where are your numbers? I just watched your Youtube video and nowhere do you attribute those numbers to Hollywood Slots.

    I don’t go there and I couldn’t care less if it was there or not, I’m just saying, if you’re going to make a statement about something you should be able to correlate the findings. Did your sources for the unempolyments and jobs numbers say they were the result of Hollywood Slots?

  • Mark

    I am opposed to having any casinos in Maine, but for an entirely different reason. I am from CT and want nothing more than for gamblers to keep coming south for their fun. Connecticut’s two casinos (Foxwoods being the largest in the world) have turned CT into a major destination in the North East. They have brought entertainment in the forms of not only table games and slot machines, but as fights, concerts and professional sports. I hope Casinos No continues their fine work of bringing the money back to CT.