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Some still betting on Butte plan-‘Destination Montana’ supporters say gambling district will happen

Supporters of a proposed $2 billion gambling and entertainment district here said they haven’t given up on the project despite the a recent defeat at the state Legislature.

The Associated Press Great Falls Tribune

Evan Barrett, executive director of the Butte Local Development Corp., said he and others backing the plan are ready for another pitch to lawmakers, even if they have to wait two years for the next legislative session.

"We’re going to make this happen," Barrett told The Montana Standard.

Last week, the state House killed a measure that would have made major changes in existing gambling and liquor licensing laws and established a special gambling district in Butte.

The sprawling development promised up to 40 music halls, 10 casinos, a theme park, 15,000 hotel rooms, three golf courses, a sports stadium and sports training centers.

Developers behind the plan, dubbed "Destination Montana," said liberalized gambling was necessary to win support from possible investors.

But legislative opponents of House Bill 757 said the "pie-in-the-sky" project just asked too much by seeking Nevada-style casino games.

And its promise of more than $100 million in new tax revenue each year, 24,000 jobs and millions of new tourists to Montana just seemed too good to be true, they said.

But despite earlier pledges to quit if the bill didn’t pass, Barrett said developers Robert Tormey and Barrett Singer of Foxx Industries are sticking around.

The developers said they plan to compile the financing details some lawmakers said were missing from the plan if they make another pitch to the Legislature.

Singer said his group had little time to present the plan to people across the state, and thinks more time will help developers assemble investors and partners who will be more visible if the debate resurfaces.

"We are going to get everybody from behind the curtain to stand in front of the curtain," Singer said.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20030407/localnews/74955.html

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