(NECN: Amy Sinclair, Lewiston, Maine) - The casino debate is heating up in Northern New England. Residents of Maine's second-largest city have agreed to consider a developer's plan to build a gaming facility.
With quiet sidewalks and vacant store fronts, it is plain to see downtown Lewiston is struggling, but from across the Androscoggin River, investors see a potential jackpot.
A local investment group, calling itself "Great Falls Recreation and Redevelopment," hopes to put a slot machine casino and hotel in part of the Old Bates Mill complex on the corner of Main Street.
Many business owners believe a casino would make Lewiston a destination city, but some families have real concerns about what else the casino might bring.
If Lewiston voters support the proposal, the investors group will begin collecting signatures to get the question on the statewide ballot in November of 2011.
