King vetoes Calais casino Curtis endorses Kittery project

AUGUSTA – Backers of a proposed tribal gambling resort in southern Maine predict Gov. Angus S. King’s decision Monday to veto a Calais casino bill will be back to haunt him later in the legislative session.

Meanwhile, former Gov. Ken Curtis agreed Monday to serve on a nine-member board of directors for the proposed Kittery casino which carries an estimated construction cost of between $400 million and $600 million.

“I am delighted to be involved in a project of such importance to the state of Maine, the Penobscot Indian Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe,” Curtis said in a prepared statement. “Maine is a tourist state, gaming is offered to tourists in other states and we need a quality casino resort to remain competitive.”

Maine’s current governor couldn’t disagree more. King vetoed a bill that would have allowed the Passamaquoddy tribe to acquire up to 100 acres for the purpose of establishing a casino in Calais and to extend the timetable for such an acquisition through Jan. 31, 2020. The governor emphasized his opposition to the bill was not limited to the Passamaquoddy Tribe or any other organization.

“I continue to feel strongly that casinos are not in the best interests of Maine people and their communities and have opposed, and will continue to oppose, attempts by any group to establish them in Maine,” King said.

The latest group to announce its support of a tribal casino contains some big names in Maine. Maddy Corson, the former chairman of Guy Gannett Communications, and Neil Rolde, an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, joined Curtis, a former Democratic governor, on the nine-member board. A fourth panelist has yet to be named, while the five remaining board members will be representatives from the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes.

Republican lobbyist Jon Doyle, Democratic lobbyist Severin Beliveau, and Tom Tureen, a tribal attorney who brokered the landmark 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, have told lawmakers that the new gambling resort would actually rival the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., and generate $50 million for the tribes and $100 million for the state’s General Fund annually. State Sen. Ken Lemont, a Kittery Republican, said he was aware of a 150-acre to 200-acre parcel near the interstate in Kittery that the tribes were evaluating. Rep. Chris O’Neil, a Saco Democrat, said lawmakers were told the casino would employ 4,000 people and that 80 percent of its customers would be from out of state.

Maine’s Indian tribes face long odds as they attempt to set the casino plan in motion. Under the provisions of the landmark settlement agreement, the tribes need legislative approval to acquire land they intend to use for gambling purposes. Independent Gov. King, who leaves office next January, has pledged to veto any casino legislation that reaches his desk.

In 1993, the Legislature overwhelmingly rejected a Passamaquoddy proposal to build a $20 million casino in Calais. The tribe later unsuccessfully appealed its case to the U.S. District Court in Maine on the grounds that the state of Maine could not prohibit the Passamaquoddys from opening a gambling operation. In a last-ditch effort in 1996, the tribe took its case to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston where it also lost.

The tribe then reintroduced a bill last year in an attempt to revive the Calais casino issue. The governor’s veto Monday killed its chances for at least another year, unless the Legislature can mount the two-thirds majority vote in each chamber needed to override the veto. That vote could come as soon as today.

Since the deadline for admitting bills into the current session has expired, the tribe would also need to demonstrate to legislative leaders that an emergency situation justifies authorization of a new bill for the Kittery casino. With another looming veto threat, such legislation would require two-thirds support in the House and Senate for enactment.

Doyle said Monday that by taking such a hard line against the tribe’s Calais legislation Monday, King’s veto has moved some lawmakers closer to the concept of a Kittery casino simply because many legislators want to help the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indians. Efforts to move a Kittery casino bill through the House and Senate, he said, could be enhanced as lawmakers conclude that the Legislature may be the Indians’ best hope.

“I think this [veto] might cause them to reflect a bit more on just how they feel about this ultimately,” Doyle said.

Tureen downplayed the casino implications of the bill King vetoed Monday and insisted it was simply a bill to acquire land and extend the timetable for acquiring property. He said the southern Maine gambling resort concept was starting to catch on.

“I think that the proposal we’re talking about in southern Maine makes a lot of sense and that there is good and growing support for it,” he said. “It’s been reflected in polls and in what we’re hearing from people.”