Slot machines silent for this year

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BANGOR — Mainers who are itching to try their luck on slot machines at Bangor Raceway will have to be patient for a while. Members of a panel that's writing new gambling regulations say prospects for seeing slots at Bangor's harness-racing track this year are a long shot.

"We're writing the book from the beginning," said George McHale, chairman of the Governor's Gambling Control Advisory Council, which met Thursday in Bangor.

McHale and others said slots probably won't arrive in Bangor until next spring, given the amount of research that needs to be done on gambling regulation.

The council plans to survey the gambling-licensing laws, rules and regulations of 14 other states and the Canadian province of Ontario, and modify them for Maine.

It must also write job descriptions for a yet-to-be-hired staff, develop application forms and conduct a suitability investigation.

The gambling panel's legal counsel, Assistant Attorney General Laura Yustak Smith, said the rule-making component alone, which includes a 30-day public comment period and possibly a second comment period if major revisions result, could span several months.

Maine voters in November approved slot machines at the state's harness-racing tracks if voters in the host communities approved.

Bangor voters gave their OK, but communities surrounding the state's other track, Scarborough Downs, did not.

Bangor officials are eager for revenues from the proposed racino, estimated at $2 million to $3 million a year, to start pouring into the city treasury.

"We would like to see this done quickly but not so quickly that it's not done correctly," City Manager Edward Barrett told the City Council.

Council Chairman Dan Tremble said he's asked daily when the racino will open.

The Legislature authorized slot regulations this spring but the law does not take effect until July.

To speed up the process, Gov. John Baldacci signed an executive order creating an interim panel to start crafting rules.

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