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Friday, October 29, 2004
Panel may decide racino license Nov. 4
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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AUGUSTA — The Maine Gambling Control Board may vote Nov. 4 whether to issue Penn National Gaming a conditional slot-machine license for its proposed racino at Bangor Raceway. The board, which received briefings about the company Thursday from the state police and outside fiscal experts, decided to review background materials compiled by the state police before taking action on Penn National's application for a license to install 1,500 slots at the racktrack. Much of the information about Penn National that was given to the board Thursday was similar to material that investigators submitted to the Maine Harness Racing Commission before that panel gave Penn National a permanent harness-racing license Oct. 14. Penn National needs a harness-racing license, which it now has, and a slots license, which it is now seeking, before it can install and operate slots at the Bangor Raceway. Eric Schippers, a vice president at Penn National, said the company did not expect the Gambling Control Board to vote on the application Thursday but the firm hopes a vote may be taken when the board meets Nov. 4. Penn Na- tional does not expect to get a permanent slots license this year because the company is unwilling to release some documents requested by the state unless the Legislature guarantees that they will remain confidential, as as is the case in other states. That's why any license that may be issued this year will be conditional, until the status of the remaining documents can be cleared up. Lt. Timothy Doyle of the state police, who briefed the Gambling Control Board Thursday, said gambling regulators in Ontario, Canada, and in states where Penn National has casinos and racetracks are "very complimentary" about the firm's operations in their jurisdictions. Doyle noted that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint in 2001 against Steven Snyder, now a senior vice president at Penn National, for questionable business practices while he worked for another firm in the 1990s. Doyle said the case was settled with no finding of wrongdoing, but penalties were imposed. Christian Smith, an accountant hired by the state, and Robert Strong, a finance professor at the University of Maine, gave the board positive assessments of Penn National's finances, though Strong wrote that Penn National "will need to plan carefully to manage the risks associated with its long-term debt." Snyder told the board Penn National's debts are large but "very manageable," and he said the firm posted "the best quarter that we've had in the history of our company" in the three months that ended Sept. 30. Staff Writer Paul Carrier can be contacted at 622-7511 or at: MORE ONLINE: Follow the ongoing issue of the Bangor racino in a special section on gambling in Maine. Find it on MaineToday.com: www.mainetoday.com.
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