HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – Nova Scotia Finance Minister Michael Baker is betting that Halifax’s casino can handle a new competitor three hours down the road in New Brunswick, where a $90 million destination casino and hotel is expected to open in Moncton in 2010.

Baker said Tuesday it might mean a short-term dip in business in Halifax, but that’s all.

“It’s my job to be concerned, but at this point, I don’t see any reason to be overly concerned,” he said. “Initially, there will be some players who will want to go and see a new location, and that’s to be understood, but I think that the locations here in Nova Scotia are both good locations with a loyal local clientele, as well as a good visiting clientele.”

The minister said he’s confident casino operator Great Canadian Gaming Corp., which bought the Halifax casino in 2005, will be able to make any necessary adjustments. The company recently has cut the open hours at the Halifax casino, laid off staff and removed tables and slot machines in hopes of increasing profits.

Great Canadian released first-quarter financial results last week that showed $10.7 million in revenue for its Nova Scotia casinos, a 3 percent drop compared with the first quarter of 2007.

Company spokesman Howard Blank said the company had no comment on the prospect of a competitor in Moncton.

“There’s nothing really much that I’m able to discuss with you. Do you have another question?” said Blank, the vice president of media and entertainment.

New Brunswick Finance Minister Victor Boudreau announced May 9 that a group led by Sonco Gaming New Brunswick Ltd. had won the bid to put a destination casino in that province.

In neighboring Maine, Penn National Gaming has a slot machine facility in Bangor. A proposal to build a destination resort that would include a casino just across the border from St. Stephen, New Brunswick, in Calais was rejected by the state’s voters last November.

Halifax businessman Michael Novac, who heads Sonco, was part of an unsuccessful bid to establish Nova Scotia’s casinos in 1994. Novac isn’t permitted to comment on any aspect of the casino project under terms of the New Brunswick deal, said a woman who answered the phone at the Sonco Group office in Halifax.

John Benoit, a spokesman for unionized employees now negotiating a first contract in Halifax, said he thinks a casino in Moncton is good news because it could boost tourism, and that could be good for workers.

“I see it as a plus,” said Benoit, who’s with the Service Employees International Union.