BANGOR – Hollywood Slots may continue to stir controversy among local residents, but its promise to stimulate the economy and contribute to the construction of a new Bangor Auditorium was well received by the local business community during a talk Thursday.

An audience of 118 city leaders and representatives from local businesses rose early to attend a Husson College Business Breakfast, where guest speaker Jon Johnson, general manager of Hollywood Slots at Bangor, touted the economic contributions of his facility.

“We’re a notch below small compared to most gaming facilities, but in terms of what we contribute to the local area,” the facility’s financial and tax impact is large, Johnson said.

Johnson listed the following revenue, tax and employment figures from 2006 at the current Hollywood Slots facility in the former Miller’s restaurant:

. $41.8 million in revenue last year.

. $21.3 million in state and federal taxes, including $6.7 million toward harness racing in Maine.

. $199,000 in property taxes to the city of Bangor.

. $5.2 million payroll for 190 employees.

. $13.1 million in purchases of goods and services from Maine companies, representing 78 percent of the facility’s purchases.

In June 2008, when construction is expected to be complete on the new Hollywood Slots at Bangor facility at the former Holiday Inn-Civic Center property, some of those figures will change drastically:

. $2 million in property taxes.

. $15.6 million in payroll for 490 employees.

Hollywood Slots’ parent, Penn National Gaming Inc., headquartered in Wyomissing, Pa., acquired the site to build its $131 million gambling complex. Penn operates 20 gambling properties throughout the U.S. with more than 15,000 employees. Revenues total more than $2 billion per year, Johnson said.

During the question-and-answer session, former Bangor Mayor Michael Crowley pointed out that a significant amount of tax money from Hollywood Slots goes to the city of Bangor.

“You’re a new face in town, but you behave very much like an old friend,” Crowley said to Johnson. “You do provide the best answer to replacing the [Bangor] auditorium without it falling on the backs of the taxpayers.”

One audience member shouted, “But the money you’re using is coming out of the people of this area,” to which Johnson replied, “That’s true, but you could say the same of any business.”