Subpanel to explore gambling

AUGUSTA – The chairman of the Maine Gambling Control Board on Thursday established a subcommittee that will spend the next several months researching and writing a report on the status of gambling in Maine.

George McHale of Orrington appointed the three-member subcommittee during a board meeting at Department of Public Safety’s headquarters in Augusta.

It will consist of Peter Danton of Saco, who will serve as chairman, and Larry Hall of Dedham and Peter Michaels of Dixfield.

The report will explore the benefits of bringing all types of gambling under the board’s purview as a way to increase efficiency and save money.

The Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee asked for such a report more than a year ago, while working on the law that paved the way for slot machines in Bangor.

The board’s original deadline was Jan. 15. Members, however, wanted to get a handle on regulating slot machines before taking on other forms of gambling, such as the state lottery. Members agreed more time was needed and obtained a one-year extension.

According to McHale, Danton, who also is chairman of the state liquor and lottery commission, “has often said the diversity of gambling in this state is astronomical.

“There is much more than anybody realizes,” he said.

Slots are at the center of Penn National Gaming Inc.’s $90 million plan to bring casino-style gaming to Bangor, the only venue in the state that received the needed local and state voter approval.

The first phase, now under way, calls for the development of an interim gaming facility, which will feature 475 of the machines.

The temporary facility, Hollywood Slots at Bangor, is set to open in November at the former Miller’s Restaurant on Main Street.

It eventually will be replaced by a permanent facility with 1,500 slots at or near city-owned Bass Park, home of Bangor Raceway.