Casino opponents air second ad of campaign

PORTLAND – A second TV ad opposing a casino in Maine began airing Thursday.

The ad features Greg Spitzer, a former Maine state trooper who headed the division that oversaw games of chance in the mid-1970s when slot machines were legal for social and nonprofit organizations.

In the ad, Spitzer claims a casino would lead to more crime, more gambling addiction and more drunken driving. He says local law would not apply on casino property, and that sheriff’s departments would have no jurisdiction to enforce laws there. Casino supporters say that’s not true.

The 30-second spot was paid for by Casinos No!, a political action committee that opposes a casino.

Residents will vote Nov. 4 in a statewide referendum on whether to allow a casino in Maine, to be operated by the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indian tribes.