A print advertisement, paid for by the people who want to put slot machines at commercial race tracks in Maine, doesn’t lie. But it comes close.

It is duplicitous, misleading and plays games with numbers.

Brought to us by the Maine Coalition for Racing and Agriculture, the ad claims that: “40% of the new state slot-machine revenue will be dedicated to reducing the cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens and the disabled.”

The ad continues: “12% of the state slot-machine revenue will be added to a state fund providing scholarships for deserving students at Maine’s universities and technical colleges.”

The language would lead the casual reader to believe that 40 percent of the revenue from the slot machines will help pay for prescription drugs and 12 percent will go toward scholarships. That’s just not the case.

Revenue from the slot machines will be split much less generously. Ten percent would go to help seniors and the disabled buy prescription drugs. Seven percent would go to support harness racing, 3 percent would go to agricultural fairs and 3 percent would support scholarships for Maine college students. In addition, small percentages of the proceeds from the slot machines would go to the Sire Stakes Fund and administration costs. But in the end, that’s up to the Legislature, which can spend the state’s share of the proceeds any way it decides.

The remaining 75 percent goes to the slot machine license holders, which includes Capital Seven LLC, a Las Vegas-based corporation that owns 49 percent of Bangor Raceway.

The key word used to justify the ad’s claims is “state.” If only the revenue that doesn’t go to the license holder is considered, then 40 percent goes to prescription drugs. That’s a shim-sham to make the state’s share look larger than it actually is.

The ad also implies that the 12 percent that goes to harness racing and agricultural fairs is part of the “state” revenue, another stretch of the truth. The money may remain in the state, but it goes to a particular industry.

Proponents of Question 2 try to present it as a big-picture issue. Is it OK to have slots at Maine’s commercial race tracks? They say ignore the details. If voters say “yes,” they say they’ll come back to the Legislature and iron out the small print.

If this advertisement is any indication, we’re not inclined to take their word for it.

Backers of Question 2 have presented a message that purposely misleads. That’s another reason, if one is needed, to vote no.


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