BIDDEFORD – Although two gaming proposals that would have allowed two racinos and one full-fledged casino in Maine were soundly defeated statewide Tuesday, the vote locally was split.

Bridgton and Gorham voters rejected both questions 2 and 3. In Bridgton, the Question 2 vote went 656 yes and 947 no, and on Question 3, 491 yes and 1,110 no. In Gorham, the vote for Question 2 was 2,182 yes and 2,215 no; and on Question 3, the tally was 1,569 yes and 2,828 no.

But in Westbrook, Windham and Standish, the racino projects, which would have been located in Biddeford and Washington County, received widespread support.

In Westbrook, the vote on Question 2 was 2,888 yes and 2,218 no, a difference of 670 votes. Windham and Standish also showed a high level of support for Question 2. In Windham, the vote was 2,433 yes and 2,119 no. In Standish, the vote was 1,397 yes and 1,178 no.

However, those three communities also followed most of the rest of the state in defeating a $100 million casino project that would have been located in downtown Lewiston and would have included table games as well as slot machines. Westbrook defeated the measure, 2,217 yes to 2,890 no. Windham voted 1,805 yes and 2,748 no. The Standish vote was 1,085 yes and 1,488 no.

Proponents of questions 2 and 3 on the statewide ballot touted the hundreds of jobs to be created and revenue the gambling facilities would provide to both the cash-strapped host communities and the state. But it appeared that voters didn’t believe the promises made by both campaigns.

The Lewiston casino was defeated soundly statewide with about 63 percent of voters rejecting the project, which was surrounded by controversy in recent days as word leaked out that the local backers, Great Falls Recreation and Redevelopment, LLC, may have sold the rights to build the casino to out-of-state concerns.

In terms of the racinos, combined harness racing and slots gaming facilities, the statewide vote was a little closer, with nearly 55 percent of voters rejecting the racino projects. The most high profile of the two was a $120 million resort and racino in Biddeford, backed by Scarborough Downs and Ocean Properties, Ltd.

Backers of that racino, known as Biddeford Downs, said the project would create about 800 construction jobs and more than 500 permanent jobs after full buildout. The project would have also moved the entire Scarborough Downs harness racing operation to Biddeford.

In Scarborough, voters narrowly defeated Question 2, with 90 more people voting against it than for it.

Marc Worrell of Biddeford, president of Mainers Against a Rotten Deal, which worked hard to defeat both gaming measures, said, “We thought Maine would vote our way, but until (Tuesday) night, we didn’t know for sure.

“We felt strongly that these projects were not the type of jobs and development we need here in Maine,” he added. “And, we really didn’t feel there was room for five gaming facilities. I guess the people agreed.”

Crystal Canney, spokeswoman for the Yes on 2 campaign, said, “We’re obviously disappointed. We felt these project would have provided good-paying jobs”

Canney said Scarborough Downs and Ocean Properties are still “digesting the results” from Tuesday’s vote, and added that “decisions will have to be made about where to go from here.”

Sharon Terry, owner of Scarborough Downs, said on Tuesday that she didn’t know what would happen to the racetrack if the Biddeford racino project were not approved.

“We will just have to sit down and talk about it. We will have to regroup if it doesn’t pass,” she said early in the evening before the statewide results were known.

“There’s no question there was local support for (the racinos),” Canney said, which may mean that developers will continue to seek other ways to get the gaming facilities approved.

One option, mentioned by Biddeford City Council President Bob Mills, who is also an ardent supporter of Question 2, is some type of countywide vote, similar to the Penobscot County effort Tuesday, which was designed to get table games approved at the Hollywood Slots racino in Bangor. That measure passed with about 62 percent support.

Mills agreed with Canney and said it was “disappointing to have (Biddeford Downs) defeated. Especially since it was all about jobs and bringing in needed revenue.”

Gorham resident James Nugent was representative of how the vote went in his town. He voted against the casino in Lewiston, but for the racinos in Biddeford and Washington County. “We’ve got to do something to get people back to work,” Nugent said.

However, people like Gorham residents Garfield Toothaker, Kassandra Barbour and Cheryl Robbins ended up carrying the day. All three voted against both gaming measures.

Toothaker voted no because he believed that Maine has too many gaming facilities already – referencing Hollywood Slots and the Oxford Casino that was narrowly approved last year and is now under construction.

Barbour justified her no votes, by saying, “I don’t want a Las Vegas for Maine.”

Mindy Grover of Windham voted to support both gaming questions on the ballot.

“The (Biddeford) townspeople approved it and I think where they’ve already approved it, people from away shouldn’t be able to tell them no,” she said.

Like Grover, Joann Inman, also of Windham, voted yes on both questions 2 and 3.

“They’re going to bring money into this state and we need it,” Inman said. “I’m also a retired high school English teacher who would like to see some of the earnings go to education.”

But similar to votes in other local communities, several residents in Standish said they supported the Biddeford Downs project, but not the Lewiston casino.

Karyn Diamond voted yes for Biddeford but no for Lewiston. She said, “I think that if casinos are in too many places, it will detract from how special they are and spread the wealth too thin.”

Ed Kalman voted the same way as Diamond and said, “There’s only so many people in Maine. There will be more casinos than there will be people.”

Then there were also those in both Standish and Windham who voted against both gaming measures. Ray Fowler was one such voter.

“I voted no to both of them. It’s not going to be a huge job grower,” he said. “Nor do I think it’s going to benefit us financially. And I think it’s really out of character for Maine.”

Hugh Swicker of Standish said the gaming questions were the major reason he came out to vote.

“The advertisement that said, ‘Hey we don’t know the results of the one in Oxford yet, why do we want to get five of them and then find out we made a mistake?’ was pretty decisive for me.”

Staff writers John Balentine and Robert Lowell contributed to this report.