YES ON QUESTION 1

Do you want to allow a Maine tribe to run a harness racing track with slot machines and high-stakes beano games in Washington County?

The success of the slots facility in Bangor makes the question of expanding gambling one of equity. A yes vote on Question 1 would allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build a gaming facility in Washington County. Expanding gambling to the state’s poorest county offers an opportunity to spur economic development in an area where it is sorely needed.

While the governor and gambling opponents are right that casinos are not, by themselves, a means of economic development, the activity at Hollywood Slots in Bangor shows that they can be an important catalyst.

The $131 million worth of construction taking place on a single block in Bangor is roughly equal to the entire two-year transportation bond package voters approved in June, a package touted for its economic development potential.

The Bangor region has served as a pilot project for the question of gambling in Maine and it shows that residents – and to a lesser extent visitors – given a choice among slot machines, high-stakes bingo or the state lottery, prefer slots. Instead of trying to hold off what is already in Maine and growing nationally, voters should enable the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Washington County to join in hosting what is one of the fastest growing forms of recreation in the United States.

The Washington County facility, to be located in Calais, would be much smaller than the Bangor racino, so its economic impact would be more limited. Still, a University of Maine study predicted up to $13 million a year in additional economic activity from the facility. The study cited research by the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth that found nearly two-thirds of the patrons at Hollywood Slots traveled more than an hour to reach the Bangor racino. More than a third traveled more than two hours. This shows that the Calais complex would draw new people to the area.

Beyond gambling, the tribe plans a resort and conference center. This alone could draw new visitors, and their money, to the region. Located in Calais, the fifth-busiest border crossing with Canada, the potential to draw new visitors is real, although not figured into the UMaine analysis, meaning the economic impact could be larger than forecast.

In a county where unemployment is chronically well above the state average and aspirations are too low, this new economic activity is sorely needed.

Further, a portion of the slots revenue will support scholarships for local students and provide economic development money for local projects. Although beyond the scope of this question, the state should reconsider tying slot machines to race tracks and allocating a larger share of the revenue to horse racing and off-track betting than to scholarships and host communities.

As for a Down East racino, Rick Doyle, the governor of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, says, “this private sector opportunity can help Washington County where decades of government efforts have failed.”

The tribe and the county deserve this opportunity.