自从缅因州的议员们提出新建一处赌场后，牛津赌场就一直是争议的焦点。上个周末，立法者鉴于新赌场试营业一周令人瞩目的客流量，通过了允许新赌场的法案。
周日下午，为新赌场兴奋不已的牛津赌场管理人员们一直在博彩楼层忙的团团团转，他们相信这一周的来宾人数仅仅是在一直渴望赌场博彩的地区内庞大消费人群中的很小一部分
“那感觉并不仅仅像是进入到泰姬陵” 缅因州居民布列塔尼.伯恩斯说“但是有些事情是值得我们缅因州人家喻户晓的，我想哪里的人们是友好的，而且很明显所有的机器都是在满负荷运行着的，这对于城市的发展是有利的”
州政府期望新赌场能带来亿万美元的财税收入，而反对者在争论赌城所能带来的财税收入是否足够抵偿其可能会所带来的新的犯罪。但是支持博彩的立法者击溃了这一争论，理由是过去的若干年东北地区开设了数十个赌场，在近年来博彩迅速扩张的宾夕法尼亚和马里兰这两个地区，犯罪率也没并没有出现增长。宾夕法尼亚的博彩收入在去年年底已经超过新泽西，成为东海岸的博彩之都。
缅因州在赌场发展上动作比较迟缓，但是在过去的一年他们已经努力迎头赶上。牛津赌场并不仅仅是被期望能增加政府的收入，通过吸引邻近地区的人来到缅因州进而带动其它商业消费、刺激经济的发展也是人们所期望的。
“这会形成一个多赢的良性循环”周五来缅因州探望朋友的巴里.哥德堡说，“我们密歇根有几个赌场，确实是对当地的经济有所帮助的，赌场能够吸引大量的客流这是客观存在的事实，而这些人并不仅仅在赌场消费，他们的钱同样会花在餐馆、商店或其他的商业设施，我想在这儿也是一样的”
译文：
Oxford Casino Wraps Up First Week With Excited Maine Residents
The Oxford Casino has been a source of controversy since the idea of a new casino in Maine was conceived by lawmakers. This weekend, the legislators that passed the law allowing the new casino were rejoicing over the attendance from the first week of the new gaming facility.
Officials from Oxford Casino were busy roaming the gaming floor Sunday afternoon, excited about the possibilities that the new casino can bring to Oxford. The officials believe this week was just a small indication of how large the turnout can be in an area that has been starving for casino gambling.
”It wasn’t exactly like walking into the Taj Mahal,” said Maine resident Brittany Burns. “But it was something that us Mainers can call home. I thought the people were friendly, and obviously the machines were spinning at full capacity, so that can only help the city moving forward.”
The town expects to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue from the new casino. Opponents had debated whether the tax revenue would be enough of a substitute for the additional crime the casino could bring, but pro-gaming lawmakers foiled that argument by pointing to the dozens of casinos that have opened in the Northeast in recent years. Crime has not increased by a substantial margin in either Pennsylvania or Maryland, two states that have expanded gambling at a rapid rate over the past few years. Pennsylvania has become the gaming capital of the East Coast, surpassing New Jersey in terms of overall gaming revenue late last year.
Maine was slower in bringing casinos to their state, but has made up for lost time over the past year. The Oxford Casino is not only expected to increase revenue for the state, it is also being counted on to help the local economy by bringing customers into other local businesses in the surrounding neighborhoods.
”This is a win-win for everyone involved,” said Barry Goldberg, who was in town Friday visiting friends in Oxford. “We have a few casinos in Michigan and they have really helped the community. Casinos attract a large amount of people, that is a fact, and those people not only spend money at the casino, but also at restaurants, shops, and other businesses around the casino. I expect that same thing will happen here.”