Passamaquoddy Tribe pushes casino despite years of rejection

Wednesday, August 7, 2013  

Leaders of the Passamaquoddy Tribe in Maine are once again pushing for a casino despite years of rejection by politicians and the public.

But the tribe hopes the outcome will be different this time. A proposed referendum will be limited to the economically-depressed Washington County rather than put it to voters in the entire state.

"My sense is as long as we’re 100 miles away, they wouldn’t oppose" the casino, Joseph Socobasin, the chief of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township, told The Bangor Daily News.

Voters have rejected tribal casino proposals for at least 20 years even as they approved non-Indian casinos and as lawmakers authorized expansions of those facilities.

Get the Story:
After 20 years of rejections, Passamaquoddy tribe hopeful casino legislation might finally pass (The Bangor Daily News 8/7)

Editorial: Expansion of gaming should benefit tribes in Maine (8/5)