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Casino Seeking Maine Land

February 16, 2010

A group looking to locate a casino in Lewiston, Maine is proposing paying the city $150,000 as an option to buy the land underneath Bates Mill No. 5, which is slated for demolition.

The Lewiston City Council is expected to vote on the proposal tonight, according to the Sun Journal. The group of investors, which includes former city councilor Stavros Mendros, would pay the city for an option on the property in four installments, with the bulk of the money, $100,000, being paid if voters approval the deal at a citywide ballot initiative.

If state voters approve the casino in 2011, the group would negotiate the final price of the land based on its market value, and put $100,000 of the option payment toward the final purchase, Mendros told the paper.

In related news, a group pushing for a casino in Oxford County is negotiating an option to buy the harness racing track at the Oxford County Fairgrounds, and then lease it back to the fair.

Black Bear Entertainment spokesman Peter Martin said the land would not be the site of the casino, but that owning a horse-racing track is one of the requirements in the proposed legislation to allow the casino.