Oregon Enters Casino Politics

Weekly question: The first big wave of candidate ads has come from an untraditional source — the gaming inudustry. The two television ads are everywhere as they oppose the notion of a Columbia Gorge casino and its politcal supporters. One ad criticizes Gov. Kulongoski and promotes Jim Hill, and the other ad criticizes Kevin Mannix and promotes Ron Saxton. This begs several questions: Will these adds have an effect? Is this the beginning of a new long drawn-out fight between reservations and entrenched interest groups? Does the Wood Village-Greyhound Park plan solve the Gorge debate or make it worse? Is this the backlash point on Oregon’s gaming trend or just a speed bump as the state continues to expand gaming in forms ahead of the rest of the nation? Your answers and opininions would be greatly appreciated. Recent news link here