Next week voters from all over the state will decide if a proposed casino should be located in York County.

If approved, the proposed casino would be the third in the state, with others already established in Bangor and Oxford.

Should voters approve a casino in York County, the proposed casino would have to go through a second approval process by vote or municipal officers in the municipality where it would operate. 

The legislation for the proposed casino is worded so that only casino developer Shawn Scott could get the licensing for the facility. 

“We want to be in a community that wants us, and we want to be a good partner to the community,” said Scott, in a sit-down interview at the Journal Tribune office on Saturday.

Gov. Paul LePage recently said a proposed York County casino would be a “phony deal” for the state, mostly drawing money away from casinos in Bangor and Oxford, according to The Associated Press. He called the pro-casino effort a “bait-and-switch” that is over promising on jobs and tax revenues.

Scott maintains the proposed casino would be a benefit, providing $45 million of annual tax revenue that would go toward property tax relief, veterans, schools and drug treatment. It would also bring 2,100 permanent, year-round jobs.

“They’re jobs you can raise a family on, with benefits,” he said. 

Scott said the proposed facility would bring many skilled positions, and because its a relatively new industry, there would be a lot of upward mobility. 

“Today, running a gaming facility is basically a high-tech job,” said Scott. “Every machine is a complex computer.” 

The proposed casino would also include a 5,500-seat event center that would attract national acts and a 150-room boutique hotel, said Scott’s business partner, David Wilson. 

The facility would have jobs in the tourism industry that would be attractive to young people in the state and would be jobs they’d want to keep, said Wilson. The facility is not going to be “a training center” for casinos in other states, he said. 

The proposed casino would benefit the state’s tourism industry, bringing in year-round activity, said Scott and Wilson. 

“People love to come to Maine,” said Scott. “There are a lot of great reasons to come to Maine. We just want to add one more.”

When talking about location, Scott refers to a 2014 market analysis by WhiteSand Gaming commissioned by the state Legislature, which said the ideal location for a casino would be in southern Maine, near beaches and access to Interstate 95.

Scott said he and Wilson are considering Old Orchard Beach as a potential site but have not settled on the location.

 “There at least five or six communities that have shown different levels of interest,” he said. 

Scott and Wilson said they are the primary investors and have worked together on various projects over the past 20 years.

Scott said he lives in Hawaii and his family has ties to Maine, having owned property in the state for many years. 

A Bad Deal for Maine PAC has launched a campaign against the casino, referring to Scott as “Shady Shawn.” The PAC received $700,000 in funding from BB Development, the company that owns Oxford Casino. The PAC’s website refers to Scott as “a casino trickster” who has in the past received casino licenses in Maine and other states and then immediately sold the properties, making millions in profits.

Scott and Wilson said their role in the proposed York County casino is to develop it, and much like a developer who brings a chain restaurant to town, they envision a national casino company operating the casino to its brand specifications. 

“Dave and I are developers. We plan to develop the facility,” said Scott.

“We’re developers, and so our plan is to develop a first class facility,” said Wilson. 

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.