"The folks who brought us state Ballot Measure 75 two years ago, which would have authorized a private casino in the eastern Multnomah County town of Wood Village, are back with what they say is a new and improved version of their proposal: Ballot Measures 82 and 83. The first would amend the Oregon Constitution to allow privately owned casinos; the second would specifically authorize Oregon’s first nontribal casino on the 31-acre site of the defunct Multnomah Kennel Club dog-racing track.

The developers, backed by a gaming company based in Toronto, are promising a $300 million “family friendly entertainment and casino destination” that would include a 125-room hotel, restaurants, pubs, an outdoor plaza for festivals and farmers’ markets and a water slide, bowling alley, concert hall and cinema. They’ve named the complex “The Grange” and say it would generate $100 million per year for public schools and other public purposes.

They say the project would create 3,000 construction jobs over the two-year development phase and employ 2,000 full-time workers earning “competitive salaries” and “full benefits.”

All those promised amenities and benefits would seem to make the proposal an easy pill to swallow. But voters should once again turn thumbs down on the project, which failed by 68 percent to 32 percent in the 2010 general election."

Get the Story:
ENDORSEMENT: Measures 82 and 83 — No (The Eugene Register Guard 9/24)

Related Stories:
Opinion: Vote no on non-Indian gaming proposal in Oregon (9/17)