----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 7:23 AM
Subject: MAINE Casinos: COSTS $190 per adult Benefits $35 per adult
IMPORTANT
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updated: Monday, November 18, 2002
Bangor Daily NEWS
Professor:
Others will follow Maine’s casino lead
AUGUSTA (AP) — Development of a $650 million casino in Maine is almost certain
to be followed by competing gambling projects in neighboring states, a
researcher told Maine officials studying the impacts of a casino Monday. “I
feel certain” a Maine casino would encourage casinos in Massachusetts or New
Hampshire, where new resorts could siphon off traffic that would have been
destined for Maine, Professor Earl Grinols of the University of
Illinois-Champaign-Urbana said. “Maine can win for a year or two,” Grinols
said. “But after that, you are losing.” The task force held its final
meeting before it com-piles a report outlining the likely impacts of the
Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indians' proposal for a $650 million casino in
southern Maine. Casino supporters want a statewide referendum. Consultants hired
by casino backers have told the task force that the complex would create 4,740
jobs and more than twice as many spinoff jobs, while generating $124 million in
wages at its start. In a previous presentation, James Klas of KlasRobinson QED
of Minneapolis said the casino would have a positive economic impact. On Monday,
Grinols, who professed his neutrality on gaming, elaborated on the economic and
social costs of casinos. Much of his research has focused on other states and
regions where casinos have been built. Grinols presented figures showing that
the combined benefits of casinos — $35 per adult living in the area
surrounding the facility — would be far outweighed by social costs stemming to
a large degree from crime adding up to $190 per adult. Grinols' studies also
show that between 37 and 50 percent of casino revenues come from pathological or
problem gamblers.