Over 70,000 people will be eligible to cast ballots in a historic referendum in the island county of Penghu Saturday that will decide whether casinos will be allowed to operate there. The result of the hotly contested referendum is expected to be known at 6 p.m. The binding 'gambling referendum, ' the first of its kind ever to be held in Taiwan, is to be held in accordance with the Amendment to the Offshore Island Development Act, which passed the legislature on January. Under the amendment, if the majority of voters say 'yes' in the poll, Penghu would get the green light to authorize gaming groups to build casinos there. Unlike in Taiwan's Referendum Law, which requires at least 50 percent of eligible voters to cast ballots for the referendum to be valid, the Penghu referendum will be valid regardless of voter turnout. Whether Penghu should have a gambling industry has long been a controversial issue, and several 'consultative polls ' have been held to solicit the opinions of Penghu residents on the proposition. The results of the various surveys have generally shown that a majority of Penghu residents want to bring in casinos to boost the county's flagging economy. In a public survey conducted by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission on Oct. 12, 2000, 44.9 percent of those polled favored the development of the gambling industry while 38.5 percent were opposed to it. An overwhelming 80 percent of voters in a poll conducted by the 'United Penghu Alliance' on June 8, 2003, said 'yes' to casinos while the remaining 20 percent said 'no'. In another 'consultative referendum' held by the Penghu County Government on Dec. 27, 2003, 57 percent of the voters said they approved the establishment of casinos while 43 percent expressed their disapproval. It is unclear if the pro-gambling majority will hold up Saturday because unlike in the previous non-binding polls, advocacy groups on both sides of the issue have been campaigning aggressively to get their message across. The Penghu Business Association, which has vigorously backed the proposition, mobilized thousands of people in 200 cars late Friday to tour the island to lobby for support of the gambling industry, which it said would boost Penghu's economy. Religious groups and students, on the other hand, have launched a campaign warning of the potential perils of gambling and argued that casinos' potential economic benefits for Penghu have been overstated. Although there is no way to forecast voter turnout, there seems to be considerable interest in the poll. The number of flights from Taiwan to Penghu had to be increased Friday and Saturday to accommodate Penghu natives working in Taiwan who wanted to return home to vote. 