What mischief has Seth Carey wrought?

From Down East Magazine
By Jeff Clark

If an audacious referendum passes this month, a Nevada casino executive, Dean Harrold, might soon be one of the most powerful people in Maine. That’s not what Rumford attorney Seth Carey wanted. It was supposed to be him.

When the thirty-three-year-old Carey first conceived of building a casino in Oxford County and began the process of gathering signatures to put the proposal on the statewide ballot, he saw himself in the role of potential kingpin. And as such Carey wrote his referendum granting himself and the company he founded, Evergreen Mountain Enterprises, incredible powers — a ten-year monopoly on casino operations in the state, carte blanche on where it is built, and permanent voting seats on the boards of some of the most important agencies in Maine, including the Finance Authority of Maine, the University of Maine System, and the Land for Maine’s Future program. Carey’s law asks voters to keep the 1,500 slot machine limit for track-related racinos while giving Evergreen an unlimited number of slots, plus table games such as blackjack and roulette. It would drop the legal gambling age to nineteen. And it would allow the casino to extend house credit to gamblers but not let them use their credit or debit cards.

Carey’s plan was to make himself one of Maine’s wealthiest and most powerful men, but things did not go as planned. Along the way he ran into complaints of ethical and legal malfeasance, accusations of dishonesty from his own spokesperson, and widespread charges of business naiveté. His campaign stumbled badly, and in mid-September he sold Evergreen Mountain Enterprises to the Olympia Group, a Las Vegas-based gaming and resort developer. As a result, Seth Carey’s legacy will undoubtedly be different from the one he intended. And for Mainers, who might soon find unknown, out-of-state casino executives making decisions about their healthcare and universities, it might well be an enduring and troublesome legacy indeed.

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So who really deserves credit for the proposed casino not being in Rumford?

well, i am sure seth's connection didn't help much. The piece in the SJ today is not exactly a glowing endorsement of the man behind the project. (I ALMOST felt bad for him... sniffing into his hankie on the stand for not knowing how to request bail for a client). And for all the talk of him no longer being part of the project, I wouldn't hold my breath too long. JSN is furious that Rumford wasn't selected. However, the referendum hasn't even taken place. It could all be moot. (or in JSN's case " moose").

Has anyone ever heard of these guys taking responsibility for anything they have messed up on?

Instead it's blame and retribution.

I guess I just don't understand the "logic" of JSN. Now she's blaming one of the selecman for Seth Carey's ineffectiveness as a lawyer? Wasn't it a judge and another lawyer who brought the charges agaist him? And in the end, isn't Seth Carey, an adult, ultimately responsible for himself?

Clearly, bug, you have gross misperceptions. Seth is " young and inexperienced" . Sorry that he doesn't have time to even watch People's Court or he would know better. Stop blaming poor seth for his lack of time to learn anything! It's so unfair!

Did anyone notice that the Down East article seemed to indicate that Arthur Boivin had a minority interest in the casino? Is that true?