Tales about the Calais racino get bigger, every time they’re told.

Proponents of the slot parlor talk about its great economic development potential, both in generating new revenue for its sponsor, the Passamaquoddy tribe, and the state of Maine, as well as creating jobs inside a depressed region.

Not so fast, say opponents. Gambling is a crippling vice, and proliferation of these disreputable facilities will cause untold disasters and spread social pestilence among the people it’s supposed to help.

The truth for Calais, we think, lies somewhere in between. A tribal racino is neither doom nor gloom scenario, but rather a wager of risk – increased crime and social ills, an infirm economic foundation – against reward – new revenues and employment for a distressed populace.

Odds are best some of both could happen. A racino would create jobs in an area desperate for growth. It would also contribute to spikes in opportunistic crimes and gambling addictions, fueled by the sheer convenience of having 1,500 new gleaming slot machines in town.

It won’t be as good as advertised. In a study, associate professor Todd McGabe of the University of Maine estimates $12 million to $13 million in annual slot machine revenue from the racino, a take less than 4 percent of the state’s potential gambling market.

Calais’ geographic isolation and meager tourist trade, means a good portion of this revenue will originate locally. Whatever revenue the racino and amenities do generate, it probably cannot fulfill the stratospheric promises made by proponents.

Economic revitalization, after all, comes from new people spending new money. Not the same people spending the same money, only somewhere else.

But the racino won’t be as bad as advertised, either. Hollywood Slots has not turned Bangor into a modern-day Gomorrah. The real lingering problem with Bangor’s slot parlor isn’t its presence, but the quizzical lack of accountability by the state government charged with overseeing it.

This is most infuriating. Maine has had legal gambling for four years, but its regulatory position remains weak. It’s a strong argument for rejecting the Calais racino: that Maine, a bureaucracy rarely known to keep its nose out of industry, is proving itself incapable or uninterested in regulating it.

But it’s not strong enough.

We support the Calais racino, and urge a “yes” vote on Question 1, because Maine has traveled past where legal gambling is a question, or even a novelty. The presence of Hollywood Slots and statewide campaigning for other venues has made gambling an uncomfortable reality.

The time for debating the merits of having gambling in Maine is over; it’s now time for discussions on strategies to cope with its existence. This shouldn’t mean everyone who wants a racino or casino should get one; rather, that it’s more fruitful for Maine to consider how this industry should grow, and who should control it.

We want this destiny in the hands of the state, not gambling purveyors.

This also means it’s time to drop polarizing predictions of gambling’s impact. Slot machines are neither economic panaceas nor an invitation to the gates of hell. They are a gamble, plain and simple.

And they’re here to stay.