By Jeff Tuttle, Bangor Daily News, Maine Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
May 7--BANGOR, Maine -- Midmorning at Bangor Raceway was deceptively quiet Thursday, with the only sound coming from a tractor slowly grading the dirt oval or the occasional plane passing overhead. Under the grandstands, crews busily readied for the racing season -- just two weeks away.
But it was on the other side of the city that the historic track's future was being changed.
'This fulfills the wishes of the people,' Gov. John Baldacci said before signing a bill paving the way for up to 1,500 slot machines at the racetrack, the only site eligible to host the state's newest form of gambling.
The bill's signing concluded a 30-minute address in front of about 200 people at Bangor's Husson College, where Baldacci reviewed the last legislative session -- including the tumultuous passage of LD 1820, which imposes strict guidelines on the new slots industry.
Penn National Gaming, the company poised to run the Bangor facility, had expressed reservations about the bill, particularly its hefty tax rate.
But shortly after the bill's signing, company officials said they would install slots under the bill's current terms.
'While there are a number of issues we're continuing to work our way through ... we are preparing to move forward with a project in Bangor,' said Penn spokesman Eric Schippers.
Under the bill, the state must grant a slots license by Sept. 30 if Penn meets all the requirements.
Thursday's outwardly friendly reception for Baldacci in Bangor -- which began and ended with standing ovations -- marked a change for the embattled governor. Among his most vocal critics of late have been a group of horsemen who accused the anti-gambling governor of trying to derail the Bangor project.
'Actions speak louder than words,' Baldacci countered after signing the bill, accompanied by an executive order aimed at speeding up the arrival of slots by creating an interim gambling council to begin crafting needed rules for the new industry.
Baldacci on Thursday also named the interim council's five members: Jean Deighan, a Bangor lawyer; Mike Peters, a small-business man from Dixfield; Larry Hall, a retired state trooper from Dedham; George McHale, a sports broadcaster from Orrington; and Peter Danton, a former state lawmaker from Saco.
Those appointments, he said, likely would become his nominees to the permanent Gambling Control Board, whose members must be confirmed by the Senate.
Baldacci has been faced with the political difficulty of opposing any new gambling in the state and honoring the wishes of voters, who in a November referendum approved slots at the state's harness racing tracks.
Considering the dilemma, Fred Nichols, general manager of the Bangor track, listened intently to Baldacci's Thursday speech.
'He did seem pretty enthused about getting the project up and running,' Nichols said. 'He should, because it's a big issue for his hometown.'
Indeed, there were few places where support for the so-called 'racino' was stronger than in Bangor, where 60 percent of voters approved. Local votes in southern Maine prevented Scarborough Downs from being host to a similar facility.
Bangor officials are counting on their share of the slots revenue -- estimated at between $2 million and $3 million a year -- to help replace the aging Bangor Auditorium.
Penn has made no secret that it eventually plans to pursue another racino at Scarborough Downs in more lucrative -- but less receptive -- southern Maine market.
But venturing south could prove counterproductive for Penn, said Dennis Bailey, spokesman for the anti-gambling group Casinos No!
'If they make a move to expand beyond Bangor, it will trigger a repeal effort,' Bailey said. 'It's not an idle threat.'
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(c) 2004, Bangor Daily News, Maine. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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