BANGOR (AP) – A combination racetrack and casino at Bass Park could generate as much as $75.3 million in annual revenue and an additional $95.6 million in local sales revenue, according to a study commissioned by the project’s backers.

The “racino” project would involve improvements to Bangor’s existing racing facilities and the addition of a high-end hotel and a casino with as many as 1,500 slot machines.

The study was conducted by three University of Maine economists and commissioned by Capital Seven LLC, which is owned by Shawn Scott, a Nevada businessman.

The report, which cost about $20,000, according to a spokesman for the developer, finds the racino would create 314 onsite jobs, most of them full time, with a projected payroll of $5.3 million.

It estimates the $30 million complex would pump $57.8 million into the state’s economy and draw customers primarily from Maine, as well as parts of New Hampshire, New Brunswick and Quebec.

The report also finds that renovations and construction, which could begin this fall and continue until 2006, would result in 527 new jobs.

The project’s effects on the local labor market, added demand for public services and potential social costs associated with crime and compulsive gambling were not addressed in the study.

The study also assumed that no significant competition for gambling exists in the region.

The city’s share of the proceeds from slot machines and its revenue in property taxes and lease payments have yet to be released.

Bangor residents will vote on the project’s installation on June 10. A statewide referendum to allow slot machines at commercial racetracks in Bangor and Scarborough is scheduled for Nov. 4.

AP-ES-05-23-03 0921EDT


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