Two Lake Oswego, Oregon businessmen are trying for the third time to persuade voters to authorize a commercial casino in the state.
Matt Rossman and Bruce Studer, co-principals of R & S Strategy Group LLC, have chosen Wood Village for their latest attempt, which would require amendment the constitution of the Beaver State to allow for a non-tribal casino. Their previous attempts were in 2010 and 2012. Before that they proposed to turn the Multnomah Greyhound Track into a casino.
They filed their most recent effort with the Secretary of State’s office on January 30. It would, in effect, give them the right to develop the only private casino in the state.
The site would be on 33 acres of industrial land in the town, which is east of Portland. They propose a combination casino/entertainment complex. They seek a 15-year gaming license that would require them to invest at least $250,000 in the project. The casino would have up to 3,500 slots, 150 tables and Keno.
Because tribal casinos pay no taxes, the partners are touting their casino as “Oregon’s first taxpaying casino” The 25 percent raised from the casino would benefit the state’s homeless population and schools to the tune of $100 million annually. Other beneficiaries would be job growth, protecting the environment, and federally-recognized Indian tribes.
Rossman told an interviewer that in talking with stakeholders he had been told that homelessness was the number one problem they would like to see addressed by a new source of funding.
To jumpstart the process of putting the proposal on the ballot they need to initially submit 1,000 sponsorship signatures. Later they will have to gather many more than that to qualify.
The measure is in two parts. The first part would life the restriction on private casinos. A separate part entitled “Funding For Schools and Homelessness Taxpaying Casino Act” would authorize the casino at its proposed location.
Wood Village Mayor T. Scott Harden is on board with the project. In a statement he said, “The new major beneficiary … will be our homelessness efforts. I think in a lot of people’s mind this would get them to think. It might be the tipping point for a lot of voters.”
He said in a statement, “I support this project. We look forward to working with Matt and Bruce for approval of a taxpaying casino that will strengthen our communities by providing much needed permanent funding for homelessness solutions.”
