You come into Maine, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a political and advertising campaign and leave empty-handed. Again.

How long will it take before companies and the people behind them learn that Maine is a bad place to go if you want to legalize gambling? Apparently, pretty long.

Like a problem gambler who just knows his luck is about to change, well-heeled casino companies keep trying and trying, don't they?

And, they keep losing.

Maine voters on Tuesday rejected a referendum question that would have allowed a casino to be built in Oxford County. The final margin wasn't really that close -- 55 to 45 percent -- though it was closer than in 2003, when voters were asked to back a casino in Sanford.

Tough economic conditions this year in Maine and across the country seemed to improve a casino's chances. Olympia Gaming, a Las Vegas company that took over the effort last summer, promised to bring good jobs, wages and benefits to Oxford County, which is among the state's most economically challenged.

Olympia Gaming also argued that the Bangor area has had a reasonably decent experience with Hollywood Slots, a "racino" that operates hundreds of slot machines in that city. Hollywood Slots was approved in 2003, the same year the bigger and glitzier Sanford casino project was shot down.

But casino interests overlook that Maine voters, for the most part, are on record as opposed to legalized gambling. The Sanford vote is one example. In 2007, voters rejected an earnest request by the Passamaquoddy Tribe to open a second racino in Maine. Tuesday's vote against Olympia Gaming is exhibit No. 3.

We suspect, as does Casinos No! spokesman Dennis Bailey, that some outfit will try again. Anyone who's visited the Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods casinos in Connecticut can tell you how much money is at stake. Those buildings are jaw-dropping Taj Mahals by Maine standards, with marble floors and staircases, potted palm trees, glass elevators, monstrous food courts and plush theaters and auditoriums.

But here's the rub: Experience also shows that casinos are frequented by the elderly and the working poor, two sometimes-overlapping groups of people who cannot afford to lose a single dollar of their disposable incomes, even if they do so in the name of entertainment.

Maine voters wisely and repeatedly have shown they know this to be true. They recognize that the future of our state hinges on its ability to preserve and advance a wholesome, and largely outdoors-oriented, image. Maine people are careful with their money, generally speaking. And, deep down, we don't want to see busload after busload of out-of-staters cruising up Interstate 95 (though the leaf peepers aren't so bad).

Casino operators should heed the words of rocker Tom Petty: "Don't come around here no more."

But we're not betting on that.