It’s hard to tell who is really behind it and I think that veil of secrecy exists to protect themselves,” said Rep. “One of the difficulties is these people involved have hundreds of shell corporations. Those who have worked for him – either directly or with a layer or two of lawyers and lobbyists in between – avoid saying anything about him. Most lawmakers and others who have been involved in casino discussions, both now and 14 years ago, say they have never met him and know him only by reputation. While his practices are well-documented, he has operated mostly out of the public spotlight. Scott has used that playbook for much of his career: Buy a struggling facility, push to add gambling through the citizen initiative process and then leave town after regulators start digging into his past. His share of the deal was about $30 million, a good return on his initial $2.5 million investment. He sold the racetrack and the rights to a casino to Penn National Gaming for $51 million amid an investigation by state regulators that uncovered a string of lawsuits, questionable financial practices and allegations of fraud. Scott never stuck around to see Hollywood Slots built.

In each case, he sold the facility and moved on. Scott has been denied casino licenses several times before, but that hasn’t deterred him. “We’re going to look at all of our options to prevent that from happening and protect Maine people.” Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon Falls, co-chairman of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee. “Given what we know so far, it certainly seems as though they are trying to take advantage of Mainers,” said Sen. The petition is now headed for the November ballot.īut although the tactic worked in 2003, this time around lawmakers from both parties have grown concerned about Scott’s latest casino initiative and are considering unprecedented, legally tricky action to avoid a referendum.

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