Off-track betting is on at grandstand

BANGOR – Off-track betting enthusiasts in Bangor did not have to go long without a gambling fix.

Just a week and a half after the Post Time OTB at the former Miller’s Restaurant closed, off-track wagering returned on Wednesday night under new ownership and at a new location.

Penn National Gaming Inc. has acquired the restaurant and its OTB as part of its effort to develop a temporary gaming facility. The former restaurant, located on a Main Street site overlooking the Bangor Waterfront, is being converted into a slots parlor that will house 500 of the machines. As part of the effort, the OTB, which had been operating out of the basement at Miller’s since mid-1994, was closed June 12 after the Belmont Stakes.

In the days that followed, the OTB operation – which included furniture and dozens of television sets – was packed up and moved to the Bangor Raceway grandstand, where after some initial renovations, everything was set up again. On Wednesday, the operation reopened as Bangor Raceway OTB.

The OTB relocation project was completed six days ahead of schedule. Jon Johnson, general manager of Penn’s Bangor operations, credited Bangor Raceway General Manager Fred Nichols and Terri Rice, OTB manager and assistant track manager, for the early reopening.

“All of this is a temporary look,” Johnson said Friday afternoon while giving a tour. “This is not what it will look like when we’re finished. We’re kind of in a transitional phase, but it’ll work for now.”

Over the last few years, a series of improvements have been made to the grandstand. Under Penn’s predecessor, Capital Seven LLC, the grandstand got new carpeting, a paint job and some other mostly aesthetic changes. Penn National has made improvements of its own, including another paint job, the installation of white latticework on the walls and nearly three dozen television sets, each set to a different race so bettors could monitor the progress of their picks.

In store for the near future are the addition of a full-service kitchen, bar and dining area and improvements to the restrooms. The OTB’s food vendor, former Paul’s Restaurant Speakeasy owner Paul Gervais, is now making do with a temporary work space.

“He’s doing a good job with what he has,” Johnson said of the food vendor.

In addition, the end of the grandstand closest to the horse barns will be walled off and secured and turned into office space for the OTB and the Main Street slots operation. That space will be used for administrative, accounting, payroll, human resources and similar functions, as well as training for future employees.

The five slot machines Penn has been authorized to set up for training purposes only will be located in the secure part of the grandstand, under lock and key, Johnson said.

The OTB was sparsely populated as of midafternoon Friday, but attendance was expected to pick up Friday night, where for the first time in the city’s history, live harness racing and off-track wagering were going to be offered on the same premises.

“This is our first time having both at the same time, so we’ll see how that goes,” Johnson said.

A number of men were in the facility as bettors, but no one wanted to identify himself.

A Presque Isle man, taking a friend to the hospital, said he had been to Miller’s OTB before. The new facility “isn’t as nice as at Miller’s,” he said, adding that the best one was in Presque Isle.

An OTB regular who did not want to give his name took a moment off from betting Friday to talk about how the operation has changed now that it has changed hands.

“There are some new faces, but most everyone in here right now I’ve seen at Miller’s at least once,” the bettor said.

“The cost of food has gone up, and that’s been an issue for some of the regulars,” the local businessman said.

Another change that concerned him was that children, who are welcome at the races, were allowed inside the grandstand, where betting takes place and alcohol is served. Children aren’t allowed in the betting area, which is delineated with a line of blue tape affixed to the carpet and signs posted on the walls.

The bettor, who said he has wagered as much as $300 or $400 a visit at the OTB, said he probably wasn’t the typical bettor.

“I’m an anti-gambling gambler,” he said, adding that he did not believe that those who lacked the means should engage in it.

“It’s expensive entertainment,” he said, adding that though he has won as much as $12,600 on a $1 ticket, that wasn’t the typical experience.

“This room is full of losers,” he said, “so you have to do it for entertainment, always.”