Lyle Moran / Associated PressBOSTON – Massachusetts is poised to license resort casinos for the first time, but a fundamental question remains: Will enough gamblers accustomed to going elsewhere come home to place their bets?Connecticut has Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos, both popular destinations for Massachusetts residents. Rhode Island has its Twin River and Newport Grand slots. And New Hampshire and Maine are mulling expanding their gambling options, further raising the specter that Massachusetts casinos won’t meet projections for crowds and tax revenues.”It will be tough because the casinos already operating have an advance in marketing and lists of players who they can market to,” said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. “Massachusetts is definitely late to the game.”Massachusetts residents spent close to $1 billion on gambling in Connecticut and Rhode Island in 2009, according to University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth researchers. Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo are looking to casinos to recapture some of that money and help offset falling tax collections.In April, the House passed a bill to license two resort-style casinos and 750 slot machines at each of the state’s four racetracks, while the Senate passed a plan Thursday to license three casinos but no slots. The two chambers will now work out a final version of the bill for Patrick’s signature.Some experts estimate Massachusetts casinos could generate $1.8 billion in annual gross gaming revenues, with half the revenue coming by keeping gamblers close to home.Clyde Barrow, director of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Center for Policy Analysis, said Massachusetts revenue estimates are realistic because there’s up to $2 billion in unmet demand in New England for gambling, and half of it is in Massachusetts.”(Massachusetts) is entering into the center of industry,” Barrow said.Barrow estimates that two-thirds of Massachusetts gamblers will return to gamble in the Bay State during the first year casinos are operating.Maria Santiago, 53, of Boston, said she travels to Foxwoods every two months with a group of her friends, but she would prefer to visit proposed casinos in Massachusetts – especially one in East Boston.”If I could just hop on the train, that would be much easier,” Santiago said.Holly Thomsen, an American Gaming Association spokeswoman, said Massachusetts can successfully lure back gamblers, and pointed to a state that has done it. She said Pennsylvania succeeded in wooing residents from New Jersey after it legalized slots in 2004. The gaming association said gross gaming revenues in New Jersey through May of this year are down 8 percent from the same period a year ago, while revenues in Pennsylvania from the same period are up almost 25 percent.But some experts believe Massachusetts casinos will have a difficult time breaking gamblers of their out-of-state gambling habits.Connecticut casinos, facing new competition from Massachusetts, will try to retain gamblers with added benefits and loyalty programs, says Robert Goodman, a Hampshire College professor who has written about gambling.For instance, Foxwoods already has a “Wampum Rewards” program in which gamblers acquire points used to purchase items from a megastore or gain free access to a bingo hall. Other enticements could include lower prices for food, drinks, entertainment and hotel rooms, or higher payouts on bets at slot machines.”As payouts to players increase, the casinos’ gambling revenues will decrease, so their payments to the states will also decrease,” Goodman said.Massachusetts could also face increased competition for gamblers in the near future.New Hampshire has considered adding slots. A recent proposal was defeated by the Legislature, but it’s certain to return next session. In Maine, a November ballot referendum will give voters a say on whether to add another casino