AUGUSTA – Las Vegas: Northeast.

That’s what a group of legislators, by request of a group of residents, want to bring to Oxford County.

Touting jobs and economic advancement, Rep. John Patrick, D-Rumford, has put a bill before the Legislature to allow a casino and resort to be built in Western Maine.

Unlike Hollywood Slots in Bangor, with 450 slot machines, Patrick’s bill calls approval of a full-fledged casino, with 4,500 slot machines, card games and table games.

Of the casino’s profits, 39 percent would go to the state.

Patrick introduced the bill by request of Rumford resident Seth Carey of Evergreen Mountain Enterprises, LLC. Carey is spearheading a drive to bring a casino to the Rumford area.

Carey said the group is gathering signatures and support. Patrick’s bill seeks the Legislature’s authorization for a casino to operate. The state controls gambling within Maine’s borders.

For Patrick, it’s a matter of keeping money in Maine, along with attracting some dollars from out-of-staters. If Mainers want to gamble, they will gamble, he said, and go to Bangor, Atlantic City or Las Vegas to do so.

Patrick said he also wants to capitalize on people visiting the area to ski, golf or go sight-seeing.

The bill has a protection against proliferation clause. From the day the casino opens its doors, no entity qualifying as a “gaming facility” can move into Maine for 10 years.

No one is sure where the casino will be based. Carey said he wants a remote yet beautiful area where people will vacation. He also said he wants it to be in proximity to Sunday River Ski Resort, to capitalize on its traffic.

A casino would be one part of the project, he said. There will also be a day spa, activities, lodging and restaurants.

The primary target: wealthy tourists from out-of-state, Carey said.

“So many people come to Maine,” he said. “The best things in life are free, but that doesn’t help our economy.”

Carey said he started working on this project after returning to Rumford after a five-year absence while he was at law school.

His friends had left Maine, he said, and he realized the economy needed help; there was little opportunity for young people to thrive.

Both Patrick and Carey expect opposition.

Rep. Patricia A. Blanchette, D-Bangor, said she is one of many who will vote against the bill. Hollywood Slots is in her district.

Patrick’s bill, she said, is completely frivolous and does not take into consideration the ramifications it will have on the area.

In Bangor, the racino increased needed public safety services and the city’s infrastructure took a beating, she said.

“Nothing is free,” she said.

One percent of the casino’s profits is targeted to go to Oxford County, and 2 percent would go to the municipality hosting the casino, the bill states. Those amounts are included in the 39 percent to be given to the state.

Oxford County Commissioner David Duguay said he hopes the state will allow local control over the casino, as it will have significant impact on the area.

Patrick said towns will be able to pass ordinances deciding if they will allow the casino in. The bill also has a clause allowing local public hearings.

The bill was printed this week and referred to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs, which Patrick chairs. Blanchette is also on the committee.

“Gambling opponents don’t understand the economic impact,” Carey said.

Where the profits would go

39 percent of the casino’s profits must go to the state

Breaking it down:

• 5 percent would go to a fund to help Maine graduates repay student loans; four-year graduates of Maine public colleges would get priority

• 4 percent would go to a fund for research and development of building an east-west highway

The following would get 3 percent each:

• The University of Maine and the fractionation development center for research and production of biofuels and bio-heating oil as an alternative energy source

• An effort to make health care more affordable

The following will get 2 percent each:

• The Local Government Fund

• A Maine pre-paid college plan for parents

• Assisting elderly with the cost of prescription drugs

• The Department of Transportation for the improvement of secondary rural roads

• The Maine Community College System to expand facilities and course selection

• The municipality where the resort is located

The following would get 1 percent each:

• General aid to schools that don’t sell unhealthy snacks in vending machines

• The Renewable Resource Fund to develop new energy sources

• The Finance Authority of Maine for its NextGen First Step Grant Program

• To towns to help with the costs of regionalizing municipal services

• To help fund raising the state’s minimum wage

• Grants to Mainers who demonstrate energy efficiency and conservation proficiency

• To help improve the quality of rivers in the state, starting with the Androscoggin River

• The Land for Maine’s Future Fund

• Public access television stations

• Money for residents ages 15 to 30 to support projects that stimulate Maine’s creative economy

• To the state General Fund to protect peoples against gambling risks

• To Oxford County to pay for “mitigation of costs resulting from gaming operations”

Source: Legislative Document 1828: An Act to Allow a Casino in Oxford County