BIDDEFORD – Casino supporters will meet with Biddeford and Sanford officials to present their plans for a large casino and resort, which supporters say will generate millions of dollars in local tax revenue.

Casino proponents will meet with Biddeford city councilors Thursday night, and with Sanford officials Sept. 10.

Thomas Tureen, a Portland attorney who is working for a casino on behalf of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation, said a casino would generate around $5 million a year in tax revenue for Biddeford or Sanford.

Voters in seven southern Maine towns have already said they don’t want casino gambling in their towns. But elected officials in Biddeford said they are open to the idea.

James Grattelo, a Biddeford city councilor and former mayor, said many southern Maine residents who voted against casinos in their towns “made up their minds before they ever saw the facts.” Grattelo said he believes the benefits of a casino – including jobs and social amenities – outweigh the main disadvantage, which he said is traffic. He would back a turnpike interchange for exclusive use by a casino.

“Unless someone can convince me otherwise, I would support a casino,” he said.

Biddeford councilors may decide Sept. 3 whether to place a casino question before voters Nov. 5. Sanford voters will consider a nonbinding question on that date whether to legalize casino gambling.

Maine Indian tribes want to build a $400 million to $600 million casino and resort in southern Maine that is similar to the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. The proposal is expected to go before the Legislature next year.

In anticipation of the proposal, the Maine Legislature earlier this year created an 18-member commission to study the impacts of gambling in Maine. The first of four meetings is to be held Sept. 3 in the State House.