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VOTE
2012
ÿîSnrtÎanit bseruer43
Volume X X X X I
‘City ö/Roses’
Number 40
J www.p
www.portlandobserver.com
U l L3 Wedne
Wednesday • October 17, 2012
F c t a h i ic h o r ! in IQ 7 O
E s ta b lis h e d in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
■
years
•'community service
Raising the
Stakes
photo by
M ark W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bserver
The abandoned Multnomah Kennel Club race track east o f Portland in Wood Village could turn into Oregon’s first non-tribal and first privately-owned casino if voters
statewide approve two ballot measures on Nov. 6.
Casino draws f Once you open up a place like the Grange, it
opens doors to opening similar larger casinos in
backers, but
other parts o f the city, again drawing customers
away from other small, family owned and operated
also opponents businesses.
- Bill Mlldenberger, Nighthawk Cafó and Lounge owner ||
C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
by
Advocates proposing a $3 million dollar
non-tribal casino— The Grange— might as
well be throwing the dice in a gamble to
convince Oregon voters that a giant megaplex
to replace the abandoned greyhound race
track in Wood Village truly is “Fun for you.
Good for Oregon,” as the casino’s campaign
slogan advertises.
Two years ago, voters statewide defeated
a similar privately-owned, for-profit casino
at the former racing park east of Portland, by
a 2-1 margin.
But the Grange is “different” say the
casino’s Canadian investors, Great Cana­
dian Gaming Corp, and Clairvest Group, Inc.
They advertise a family-friendly entertain­
ment center complete with a water park slide,
bowling alley, hotel plaza and theater.
The casino backers also promise 2,000
jobs with healthcare benefits and 25 percent
of the casino’s yearly revenue (estimated at
about $ 1 million) for Oregon public schools.
Before any cutting of grand opening rib­
bons, voters must approve two state-wide
measures in the Nov 6 general election.
Measures 82 amends the Oregon Constitu­
tion to allow privately-owned casinos, and
Measure 83 authorizes for a single privately-
owned casino in Multnomah County ca­
pable o f operating up to 3,500 slot machines.
T he4,000residents of Wood Village must
also vote yes on Measure 26-142. If one of
the three measures fails, all go down to­
gether.
While the Grange has drawn supporters,
a number of critics oppose the idea, most
obviously tribal governments who say a
non-tribal casino breaches current state
agreements with tribes.
The Portland Observer was interested to
know how local residents feel about the
proposals.
We started by asking some small busi­
nesses who participate in the Oregon Lot­
tery. A new glistening Vegas-style casino so
close to Portland could lure valued custom-
continued
on page 20