Oregon Casino Effort

Ore. casino effort may threaten Cowlitz plan
By Columbian staff
Thursday, January 28, 2010

Two Lake Oswego entrepreneurs are once again trying to find investors for their campaign to amend Oregon’s constitution and open a casino near Gresham.

Matt Rossman, an attorney, and Bruce Studer, an investment adviser, tried in 2006 and 2008 but couldn’t raise enough money for a signature drive.

Their plan for the former Multnomah Kennel Club in Wood Village, north of Gresham, could threaten the Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s hopes to open a casino near La Center.

Both enterprises hope to cater to Portlanders, who live in one of the largest cities in the country without a nearby casino.
Rossman and Studer are trying to put two issues on the ballot that would allow casinos in the state and establish the state lottery as their regulator, Rossman said Wednesday.

Taxes from a casino would be divided among state schools and, in a new twist on the plan, all of Oregon’s counties.
Rossman said they plan to argue that the local economy would benefit from the construction and entertainment jobs and that taxpayers would benefit by reducing their dependence on the state lottery, where revenue fell in the wake of the state’s smoking ban.

They’re trying to find people willing to finance a signature drive between March and May, he added. The constitutional measure would require 110,358 signatures, and an accompanying statutory measure would require 82,769.

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jan/28/ore-casino-effort-may-threaten-cowlitz-plan/

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