BANGOR (AP) – A proposed slot machine facility in Calais could generate annual revenues between $11.9 and $13 million, according to a study by a University of Maine economist.

Todd Gabe, a professor in the School of Economics and a fellow at the UMaine Center for Tourism Research and Outreach, said the projected revenues are larger than the total sales at Calais-area restaurants and hotels.

By comparison, slot machine revenues at Hollywood Slots of Bangor – the only casino in Maine – are less than 20 percent of the total hospitality sales in the Bangor region, he said.

“Relatively speaking, that’s a significantly larger impact in Calais,” Gabe said.

Gabe conducted the study at the request of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, which wants to build a racetrack and slot machine facility, or racino, in the Calais area. Mainers will vote on the proposal in a statewide referendum on Nov. 6.

Gabe received no compensation for the study, which builds on his earlier work on casinos and the tourism industry, he said.

The report does not take a position on whether gambling is “good” or “bad” for Maine, and Gabe said it is just one piece of information to be considered in deciding whether slot machine gambling should be allowed in Down East Maine.

Dennis Bailey, executive director of CasinosNo!, said slot machines in eastern Maine would draw more revenues from Mainers than from out-of-state tourists.

“These casinos simply shuffle money around. They don’t bring new money into the economy. People shouldn’t get too blinded by the dollar figures,” Bailey said.

Donald Soctomah, Passamaquoddy tribal representative to the Legislature, was happy with the results of the study.

“It shows that a racino in the Calais area would be viable and that the revenue produced from that racino will benefit the Washington County businesses, the state taxes and also will benefit tribal economic development projects,” Soctomah said.

To arrive at his figures, Gabe said he examined the total market potential for casinos in Maine. The report is intended to give an idea of the revenues that could be produced at a facility like the one proposed in Calais if customers wagered at the national average, Gabe said.

But without a detailed survey of racino patrons, it is impossible to determine how much of the wagers at a Calais facility would be new money to the region or cash that would have been spent there anyway, he said.

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