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Opponents of a proposed Wood Village casino released their first television ad Thursday, deriding the project called the Grange by redubbing it "the Grunge."
The ad—created by Still a Bad Idea PAC and paid for primarily by the owners of Oregon's largest existing casino, the Grand Ronde tribe—notes that corporate backers' of Measures 82 and 83 are a Canadian gambling giant Clairvest.
A graphic in the ad refers to Clairvest's plan to install up to 150 gambling tables and 3,500 slot machines, which would make the casino one of the biggest in the country.
"It would be a foreign-owned, Vegas-sized casino," the ad warns.
On the casino opponents' website, they reinforce the notion that Las Vegas-style casinos are veritable hives of scum and villainy, using the phrase "Vegas-style" four times on a single page.
However, on the same day their anti-Vegas ad debuted, the Grand Ronde tribe paid for an advertising supplement in The Oregonian, promoting Spirit Mountain Casino as the perfect weekend getaway from Portland.
The print ad entices readers to make the drive to the casino in rural community, 62 miles from Portland with popular entertainers like Guns & Roses and Bon Jovi, along with lavish rooms and a recently renovated restaurant.
The Grand Ronde ad touts "Vegas-style gaming" in the headline.
Still a Bad Idea PAC spokeswoman Cynara Lilly says what happens on the reservation should stay on the reservation.
"While the Grande Ronde is a funder, we are a separate entity from the tribe and are not responsible for both advertisements," Lilly says. "And it must be noted that the nine largely rural casinos run by Oregon tribes would be devastated by a gigantic casino sited just outside of Portland."
WWeek 2015