Village of Plover voters said "no" by a large margin Tuesday to an advisory referendum about locating a casino in the village. The vote was 1,904 opposed and 964 in favor.
On Wednesday night, the Village Board concurred with voters and voted unanimously not to pursue a casino.
However, Trustee Orville Damrau, 2nd Ward, did say that he was a bit disappointed at the voters' choice as he saw a lot of revenue coming into the village from the hotel and convention center.
Trustee Gary Krause, 3rd Ward, was also disappointed stating that the economic impact of the development would have greatly helped the village. He added that unless people are willing to pay a lot more taxes, many of the village's projects will have to go on the back burner.
After hearing the referendum results Tuesday night, Portage County Board Chairman Clarence Hintz canceled a special County Board meeting scheduled for Thursday night, saying the voters had spoken.
The referendum drew a record turnout of 2,904 voters, more than 50 percent of the approximately 5,600 registered voters in the village, Village Clerk Karen Swanson said.
"It was gratifying to see the village residents come out in force," said Village President Ken Shibilski.
The turnout was so large, Swanson said, the village had to print about 300 extra primary ballots and used 250 of them. She said there were plenty of ballots for the casino referendum, but the problem with the primary ballots was voters erroneously crossed over party lines and needed new ballots.
Village and Portage County officials were talking with the Lac du Flambeau band of the Chippewa Indians about the possibility of constructing a $50 million casino-hotel-convention center complex in the village.
The village is one of several municipalities around the state involved in talks with the band about a casino off the band's reservation.
However, the issue does appear to be dead on a county level.
"As far as other sites in the county there's nothing in the mill right now. It's basically going to be a dead issue," said Charles Kell, Portage County planning director.