Tribe’s plan for bingo hall left in limbo

A plan by the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build a high-stakes bingo hall in Washington County found itself in limbo this week, facing resistance from the tribe’s former gaming partner, the Penobscot Nation.

The legislation, LD 642, would allow the Passamaquoddy to build a bingo hall off its reservation – a first for a Maine tribe. More important, tribal leaders say, it could provide an economic boost for the region, Maine’s poorest.

“It would allow us to demonstrate our commitment to work with Washington County, which is something we’ve been wanting to do for some time,” said Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Fred Moore III, estimating the tribe could earn between $1.7 million and $2.5 million each year from a facility in Calais or Machias.

Voters in either community would have to approve before a facility could open.

While the plan convincingly gained approval from the Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee last week, it stalled there after meeting resistance from the Penobscot tribe, which operates its own bingo hall on its reservation north of Old Town.

Penobscot Rep. Donna Loring said Thursday that allowing one tribe, but not all tribes, to operate an off-reservation bingo hall was unfair.

“I would love to see it pass, but I would like to see it pass including the Penobscot,” said Loring, who asked the committee to reconsider its vote. “If [the committee] is going to give that kind of economic opportunity to one tribe, they should give it to the other tribes as well.”

Moore said he had no problem with the Penobscots being included, but was told by other legislators it could harm the bill’s chances in the House.

“I don’t know why that is, but I don’t want to waste my time working on something only to have it fail,” he said.

The legislation specifies the bingo hall must be within 45 miles of an eligible tribe’s “Indian Territory” and at least 75 miles from the land of another tribe already running a similar facility. It also specifically excludes tribes, namely the Penobscots, that already have a bingo operation.

The legislation – should it be released from the committee and approved in both houses – might also face an enemy in Gov. John Baldacci.

Baldacci spokesman Lee Umphrey said Thursday the administration “could be hard-pressed” to support the bill because of its resistance to expand gambling facilities in the state.

Moore rejected the administration’s early assessment of the bill, noting the tribe already has authority to run high-stakes bingo on its reservations at Indian Township and Pleasant Point. Both, however, are too remote to attract many visitors. He considered an off-reservation bingo operation a “lateral move.”

Meanwhile in Calais, city leaders – eager for the economic spinoff from the facility – welcomed talks with the Passamaquoddy, who have already approached local landowners in the area.

By and large, Calais has been supportive of the tribe’s past gaming efforts.

In 1992, Calais voters by a 2-to-1 ratio supported the tribe’s plan to build a gambling hall there. The Legislature killed the project two years later.

Even the tribe’s controversial effort with the Penobscot to open a $650 million casino in southern Maine won approval in Calais, one of only a handful of communities to back the project.

But the tribe has not always been successful in its gaming enterprises.

In 1997, the Passamaquoddy tried to build a bingo parlor on land it owned in Albany Township in western Maine. That project failed on a technicality when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the land in question was not officially designated as “Indian Territory.”

The summary of LD 640 specifically excludes Albany Township.

It was unclear Thursday whether the committee would reconsider the measure.