Regions Northeast
Olympia Group Takes Evergreen Mountain, Awaits OK for $100M Casino
Sept 22, 2008
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Las Vegas-headquartered Olympia Group has acquired a controlling interest in Rumford, Maine-based Evergreen Mountain Enterprises L.L.C., the company that has proposed the development of the Evergreen Mountain Resort & Casino in Oxford County, Maine. While Olympia has taken control of the project developer--a transaction for which financial details have not been disclosed--voters of the State of Maine are still in control of the casino's fate.

Referendum Question 2, which would legalized the presence of a casino in Oxford County, must pass in November before creation of the premier resort casino can move forward. If all goes as planned, $100 million will be invested to bring the project to fruition.

  "This is exactly what we need," an Evergreen spokesperson told CPN. "The west corridor is mostly for ski resorts, and this would be a four-season destination, rather than just a winter recreation destination." As per research by the University of Maine, the casino resort would create in excess of 800 new jobs, in addition to 300 more jobs associated with supporting industries. "Oxford County is the second poorest county in Maine, and its population is the oldest; young people have left and we hope to turn the tide on that," she said.

The project will be competing with casinos in Connecticut where, the spokesperson noted, Maine residents shelled out over $100 million at gaming facilities over the last three years.

With design activity still in the works, the Evergreen project is in the early planning process. If voters give the gaming initiative the go-ahead on November 4, Evergreen's next step will be to attain approval from the Maine State Legislature, which would verify that the measure allowing for the casino is in compliance with state code.

Olympia originated as a land development company and, over the last two decades, has grown into a multi-faceted organization that is responsible for such projects as the five-year-old Casino Fandango in Carson City, Nev. Presently, the company has a bevy of projects in the planning stage, including the mixed-use destination resort Legends Bay Casino-Resort-Spa in Sparks, Nev., and the mixed-use casino and destination retail lifestyle project Southern Highlands Casino-Resort -Spa, which will occupy 100 acres in Las Vegas' burgeoning South Strip corridor. Additionally, Olympia owns various real estate companies, a property management firm and an outdoor media company.

 
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