Round the Track

Tuesday’s election should be remembered as a vote for con-tradiction. Voters statewide resoundingly rejected a proposal to build an Indian-owned casino in southern Maine with the promise of 10,000 jobs and $100 million for the state, but supported the installation of video slot machines at harness racing tracks. A so-called racino could create a few hundred jobs and add a few million dollars to the state coffers.

Question 2, as the governor and others have pointed out, slid under the radar as attention and money – a record $10 million – was focused on the casino referendum. The proponents of Question 2 wisely focused on “saving” Maine’s harness racing tradition, noting horse farms employ people and prevent sprawl. They threw in the fact that some of the proceeds from the slot machines would go to lowering prescription drug costs for seniors. In the end, their proposal got 53 percent of the vote statewide. It is interesting to note that a local referendum to allow slot machines at the racetrack in Scarborough failed there, 56 percent to 44 percent. That likely means the only racino may be in Bangor, where voters approved it in June.

The conflicted voting shows that advertising – both negative and positive – works. While supporters of Question 2 focused on positive images, the casino campaign was ugly with charges of racism, kiddie gambling and corporate greed. CasinosNo!, headed by former Gov. King’s spokesman, Dennis Bailey, took a no-holds barred approach to the campaign, blasting every aspect of the proposal, from its financial backing by a Las Vegas casino developer to weaknesses in the supporting legislation. Oh yeah, and gambling is a horrible vice.

All the ads with pictures of horses were effective, but attention must now, belatedly, be paid to what the voters really supported Tuesday. Now that the voters have expressed their wishes about the horse racing industry, it is time to focus on what will be created, a casino at the racetrack.

First, as the governor is already discussing, a gaming commission must be created. The statute behind the referendum gives full authority for racino oversight to the Harness Racing Commission. This group, which sets race dates and licenses tracks and off-track betting facilities, is said to have inadequate expertise in regulating casinos. The new commission’s bills should be paid by those it would serve, racino operators.

Second, mechanisms should be put in place to compensate Bangor for any problems it will be handed courtesy of Tuesday’s vote. Just as there was an outcry about the high costs of a proposed casino from increased traffic, crime, gambling addiction and the like, these problems will also plague a casino at a racetrack. But nothing in the statute ensures that Bangor won’t have to bear this burden alone. That should be changed.

Gov. Baldacci is wise to want to review the racino statute, giving “a lot of scrutiny” to both the language that will govern its operation and its potential operator (currently a Nevada developer), in the words of his spokesman.

This scrutiny should have come before Tuesday’s vote, but it is not too late to ensure that the people of Bangor and Maine end up with the best deal possible.