Gambling panel wants ATMs off racino floor

AUGUSTA – The Gambling Control Board voted Thursday to toughen its rules on ATMs at the racetrack casino proposed for Bangor.

As it stands, the rules adopted so far stipulate that the cash machines be at least 25 feet from the nearest slot machine. During a meeting at the Department of Public Safety’s headquarters in Augusta, board members voted to keep ATMs off the gambling floor, an approach Chairman George McHale said “seemed to be the standard” in the United States.

Penn National Gaming plans to open a facility featuring 1,500 slot machines at Bass Park in 2006, pending final licensing by the state.

The board’s ATM discussion came almost a month after the Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee reported a southern Maine lawmaker’s bill out of committee with an “ought not pass” recommendation, effectively killing it.

That bill, introduced by Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, initially would have kept ATMs at least 500 feet from slots; however, Strimling amended it to keep the devices off the racino premises.

During a Feb. 14 public hearing, the bill had no supporters and more than a few critics, among them the Gambling Control Board, the Public Safety Department and at least one key committee member, Rep. Pat Blanchette, D-Bangor.

The issue was revisited at the request of Gambling Control Board member Peter Danton, a Saco businessman who is a former state senator and chief of staff for Gov. Joseph Brennan.

During Thursday’s meeting, Danton pointed out that 25 feet amounted to less than the width of the board’s medium-sized conference room. He said he had hoped Strimling’s bill would be held up in committee so a compromise could be negotiated.

“I thought 500 feet was a little too much,” he said, adding that he would have opted for 50 feet or 75 feet from the nearest slot machine. “I’m a firm believer that if the [cash] machines are too close, they will be too inviting for people to put their card in and take out cash.”

Dixfield businessman Michael Peters, also on the gambling board, said he had no problem with increasing the distance between ATMs and slots, but added, “I don’t want to put [ATMs] outside the facility,” as Strimling had proposed.

Peters’ suggestion that the rules be amended to allow cash machines in the facility, but off the gaming floor, was approved in a unanimous vote.

“Not on the gaming floor is a reasonable standard,” noted board member Jean Deighan, a Bangor investment adviser and lawyer.

The change will be made when the board undergoes its next round of rule-making later this year. Though not required, a public hearing and comment period are planned, according to Assistant Attorney General Melissa O’Dea.

Among those who attended the meeting were representatives of CasinosNo!, an anti-gambling group that is taking on the role of educating the public about gambling and advocating against any further expansion of gambling in Maine.

During their February meeting, board members expressed frustration that the group had made comments critical of the board and its work but hadn’t been attending board meetings to offer recommendations for improving perceived deficiencies.

“I’m very, very happy to see you at this meeting,” Deighan told spokesman Dennis Bailey. “We appreciate your coming to a venue where we can have a meaningful exchange.”

“I apologize for not being here more often, but this is not my full-time job,” Bailey said during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Noting that he’d been working to actively oppose gambling since the late 1990s, when he was a spokesman for then Gov. Angus King, Bailey offered to be a resource, noting he had closets full of studies, research and other information.

Bailey later said: “I think it was a real credit to the board that they revisited their earlier decision. The Legislature ignored the ATM issue, or the [legal and veterans affairs] committee did.

“But I think the board is getting a real sense of how big their task is and how even small decisions have big consequences,” he said.