BANGOR – The manager of Hollywood Slots at Bangor estimated Thursday that one out of every 100 customers has a problem with gambling. During a talk at Husson College, Jon Johnson, general manager of Hollywood Slots, responded to two questions about gambling addiction. Most of… Read More
BANGOR – Hollywood Slots may continue to stir controversy among local residents, but its promise to stimulate the economy and contribute to the construction of a new Bangor Auditorium was well received by the local business community during a talk Thursday. An audience of 118… Read More
Gambling is now a fact of life in Maine, accessible, packaged and promoted as a wholesome, middle-class pastime. For those with a little money to spare, a penchant for risk and a healthy respect for the odds, it can be fun and exciting – and, occasionally, players reap… Read More
“Slot machines are the crack cocaine of gambling,” says Lee Thompson, president of the Maine Council on Problem Gambling. The combination of relatively small stakes, immediate gratification and an insular environment – no windows, no clocks – is extremely seductive, she said. And because they… Read More
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. – Engineers at PureDepth Inc. spent years developing tools for helping the military plot 3-D maps of war zones, eventually licensing top-secret technology to the U.S. Air Force and Navy. But the Silicon Valley startup hit the jackpot in October when it… Read More
BANGOR – As city and business leaders, former employees and the merely curious looked on Friday morning, a Cianbro Corp. worker in a large yellow excavator began taking down the Holiday Inn on Main Street. They came to watch history in the making – or… Read More
INDIAN ISLAND – The Penobscot Nation chief says his tribe’s loss of high stakes bingo revenue to the Hollywood Slots racino in nearby Bangor is making it difficult to provide essential services to tribal members. As a result, the tribe is trying through legislation to… Read More
BANGOR – The price tag for Penn National Gaming Inc.’s permanent slots complex has jumped from $90 million to $131 million, according to a year-end financial report released Thursday. Penn National Chairman and CEO Peter Carlino attributed the roughly $40 million increase to higher construction… Read More
BANGOR – The state’s harness racing and agricultural industries appear to be some of the biggest winners when it comes to the tax revenue generated from Hollywood Slots’ first 14 months of gambling. And the biggest jackpot the racing casino paid out in the same… Read More
Following is how the $21 million in taxes generated at Hollywood Slots has been divided up: . Revitalization of harness racing industry: $3,543,235 to supplement harness racing purses at commercial harness racing tracks and agricultural fairs; $1,062,970 for additional purses for special “sire stakes” races… Read More
PLEASANT POINT – Gov. John Baldacci should hold his nose, turn his head and allow a tribal racino initiative to go into effect, former tribal state Rep. Fred Moore urged Thursday. On Tuesday, backers of a tribal racino initiative learned they had successfully completed their… Read More
BANGOR – Plans by Hollywood Slots at Bangor’s parent company to build a $90 million gambling complex across Main Street from Bass Park cleared several city hurdles Tuesday night. Penn National Gaming Inc. now is waiting for the state transportation and environmental permits it needs… Read More
Even before Penn National Gaming Inc. opened its temporary racing casino in the former Miller’s Restaurant on Bangor’s Main Street, anti-gambling concerns forecast that Bangor would see a spike in crime, gambling addiction, bankruptcy and other social ills. On the surface, little appears to have… Read More
As part of an effort to assess what Bangor can expect for crime now that it is host city to the state’s only slots facility, the Bangor Daily News consulted law enforcement officials in three other states with racinos. Here’s what they had to say: Iowa… Read More
AUGUSTA – In 2003, Mainers rejected by a 2-to-1 ratio a proposal by Maine’s Indian tribes to build a casino in the state, while approving a racino – a combination slot machine parlor and racetrack – in Bangor by just under 30,000 votes out of the nearly 515,000… Read More
BANGOR – Penn National Gaming Inc. has changed the exterior design for its planned $90 million downtown racing casino and is considering adding a seven-story hotel to the project when construction starts next year. City planners have had a look at the changes, and the… Read More
BANGOR – Hollywood Slots at Bangor’s first-year anniversary celebration on Saturday nearly doubled the racing casino’s usual weekend attendance. “We had over 4,200” patrons, said spokeswoman Amy Kenney on Sunday. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var… Read More
BANGOR – One year ago today, hundreds of Mainers lined up outside the former Miller’s Restaurant on Main Street for a glimpse of the state’s first slots facility, which made its debut with a Tinsel Town-style grand opening that featured celebrity look-alikes, searchlights and champagne. Read More
BANGOR – The staff and patrons of the Holiday Inn-Civic Center marked the end of an era Tuesday when the 31-year-old hotel closed its doors forever. The hotel is one of two that Penn National Gaming Inc., a Pennsylvania-based gaming and racing company, has been… Read More
AUGUSTA – Slot machine players at the state’s only racino in Bangor are having an impact on state lottery revenues, Maine Lottery Director Dan Gwadosky told members of the state revenue forecasting commission Tuesday. “There is only so much disposable income to go around,” Gwadosky… Read More
BANGOR – The Holiday Inn-Civic Center on Main Street apparently is closing at the end of the month as part of plans to construct a permanent $90 million gambling complex at the site, even though company officials are denying the news. When calling to inquire… Read More
BANGOR – City councilors on Wednesday night authorized a final lease agreement between the city and Bangor Historic Track Inc., the Penn National Gaming Inc. subsidiary gearing up to build a $90 million gambling complex across Main Street from Bass Park. The Pennsylvania racing and… Read More
BANGOR – City councilors this week approved a request to rezone the site Penn National Gaming Inc. has picked for its $90 million permanent gaming facility. The 9-acre site at issue, referred to as the Riverside Block, encompasses all the land between Lincoln and Dutton… Read More
AUGUSTA – The chairman of the Maine Gambling Control Board expressed some relief Wednesday that Penn National Gaming Inc. was making an effort to make its proposed permanent gaming complex blend in with the rest of Bangor. “There was some fear in Bangor that we… Read More
WASHINGTON – At some Indian casinos, they’re not playing your grandmother’s church basement bingo anymore. Now the game is video bingo, played at blinking, whirring consoles virtually indistinguishable from slot machines. Slots are subject to state approval and limits. Bingo machines aren’t. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
BANGOR – The project budget for Penn National Gaming Inc.’s permanent gaming complex has grown from $72 million to $90 million, members of the company’s development team said Wednesday during a briefing for city officials. “That’s not driven by our development agreement with the city;… Read More
BANGOR – When The American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront made its debut a year ago, the state’s first racino was more than two months away from opening. But if New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July are any indication, festival weekend could… Read More
Supporters of a tribal racetrack casino in Washington County said Tuesday they believe they have enough signatures to place the matter before voters next year. “We will be on the ballot,” predicted Passamaquoddy tribal representative Fred Moore, whose group ended its petition drive last week… Read More
The Maine Gambling Control Board has made a wise move in proposing a moratorium on further expansion of slot-machine gambling. In a non-binding resolution, the board called for a breathing spell to judge the impact of the 475 slot machines at Bangor’s temporary Hollywood Slots and the expansion… Read More
BANGOR – Though they agreed that the expense was a legitimate one, city councilors who met Monday as the finance committee expressed concerns about raiding the city’s recently established racino revenue fund. City councilors established the fund last October, about a month before Penn National… Read More
PORTLAND – The Portland Eagles Club, which was the target of an 18-month undercover investigation by Maine State Police, was fined $60,000 and stripped of its gambling license after pleading guilty Monday to three counts of aggravated unlawful gambling. The club, which was accused of… Read More
AUGUSTA – Nine months after Hollywood Slots at Bangor began operating its Main Street facility, members of the Maine Gambling Control Board are calling for an intermission before any more casino-style gambling venues are authorized. During a meeting in the board’s offices at the state… Read More
BANGOR – The developer of a proposed $70 million-plus gambling complex is applying for a state traffic movement permit, one of several local and state approvals it will need as it gears up to build a home for up to 1,500 slot machines. Penn National… Read More
AUGUSTA – The Maine Gambling Control Board agreed Wednesday to join with the state Office of Substance Abuse for the delivery of counseling services to compulsive gamblers. The counseling services, which aren’t yet available, are mandated by LD 1829, the state’s slots law. The services… Read More
AUGUSTA – If you’re looking for an issue that separates Maine’s seven gubernatorial candidates, gambling is a safe bet. Neither Gov. John Baldacci nor his Republican re-election challenger Chandler Woodcock is a fan of casino gambling, but that’s about all they agree on. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
Work to convert the former Main Street Inn site into an overflow parking area for patrons of Hollywood Slots at Bangor is winding down. “It’s slated to be completed early next week,” Amy Kenney, manager of marketing and public relations at Hollywood Slots, said Thursday. The site has… Read More
BANGOR – While that large hole being dug on Main Street might look a little like Bangor’s version of Boston’s Big Dig, it actually is part of the groundwork that must be done in anticipation of Penn National Gaming Inc.’s permanent racino. The permanent Hollywood… Read More
BANGOR – The leaders involved in the effort to develop a $72 million gambling complex across Main Street from Bass Park have crossed the finish line. All of the essential documents pertaining to Penn National Gaming Inc.’s permanent racino project, including purchase and lease agreements,… Read More
AUGUSTA – A $2.125 million Megabucks lottery ticket was purchased in Maine, the Maine State Lottery announced Thursday. The winning ticket from Wednesday night’s drawing was purchased at Highland Variety in Westbrook, which will receive a $21,250 bonus, the lottery said. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
AUGUSTA – Maine Gambling Control Board members agreed Tuesday to recommend that state lawmakers and the public wait to see what impact Hollywood Slots at Bangor, the state’s only racino, will have on Maine people before taking steps that could lead to an expansion of gambling. Read More
BANGOR – A pair of excavators made quick work Tuesday of the Main Street Inn, knocking down pieces of wall and later grabbing mouthfuls of debris with jagged metal teeth to be loaded onto trucks for a trip to the local landfill. The small, two-story… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – When it comes to slot machines in Maine, Northern Maine Fair Association officials are excited about what the gambling operation could do to strengthen agricultural fairs throughout the state and the horse racing events they host. Since Hollywood Slots and the off-track… Read More
When a casino opens, the local crime rate remains steady at first but begins to rise after two or three years, according to a survey by two economists covering all 3,165 counties in the United States. Their findings are worth considering as gambling continues to… Read More
AUGUSTA – The chairman of the Maine Gambling Control Board took steps Wednesday to give credit where credit is due. “I don’t believe the governor’s ever been given the credit he deserves,” George McHale, who also heads the Maine Harness Racing Commission, said after a… Read More
BANGOR – More slot machines – and the revenues that come with them – are heading for Bangor. Months of intense negotiations came to a successful conclusion Monday night when the City Council approved several moves critical to Penn National Gaming Inc.’s $70 million-plus permanent… Read More
Negotiations concerning a Pennsylvania-based gaming and racing company’s plans for a $70 million-plus racino across Main Street from Bass Park in Bangor are on the verge of completion. A series of votes relating to the deal will appear on the agenda of the next regular… Read More
RUMFORD – A Rumford man’s plan to bring casino gambling to Oxford County has caused a stir in this paper mill town. A Web site for Evergreen Mountain Enterprises displayed a call for volunteers to help collect thousands of petition signatures needed to force a… Read More
A year after Miller’s Restaurant on Main Street in Bangor closed to make way for Maine’s first slots facility, the buses are back. This time, however, the passengers aren’t coming for the Bangor restaurant’s famous all-you-can-eat buffet. Now they come to play some of the… Read More
Jobs created: 130 (120 full-time with benefits) Estimated annual payroll: $5 million googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0]… Read More
BANGOR – A Pennsylvania-based gaming and racing company’s plans for a $70 million-plus racino across Main Street from Bass Park remain on course, according to several key players. The gambling complex, which would house 1,500 slot machines, would replace the company’s temporary facility, which opened… Read More
BANGOR – More than seven months after the five-member Maine Gambling Control Board lost one of its members, its ranks are close to being replenished. Gov. John Baldacci has nominated Cushing Pagon Samp to the board seat vacated last August by Jean M. Deighan of… Read More
MACHIAS – About 700 of the signatures found to be fraudulent among the more than 61,000 collected by the Passamaquoddy Tribe to get the Washington County racino proposal on the November ballot were derived from listings in a telephone book, a tribal leader said this week. Read More
MASHPEE, Mass. – The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, whose ancestors greeted the Pilgrims to the Atlantic shores, was given preliminary approval of the federal recognition it had been seeking for three decades, according to the tribe and a Massachusetts congressman’s spokesman. The ruling from the Bureau… Read More
AUGUSTA – A portion of the proceeds from Hollywood Slots in Bangor are going to be invested in further improvements to the harness racing facilities at Bass Park, the gaming facility’s general manager said during a meeting Thursday of the Maine Gambling Control Board. According… Read More
AUGUSTA – Parliamentary jockeying continues over calls for a tribal racino in eastern Maine. The Maine House of Representatives and Senate have been at odds over whether a new bill addressing the subject should be developed in committee. On Wednesday, the Senate refused to budge,… Read More
BANGOR – Despite the passing of two self-imposed deadlines, negotiations regarding a permanent home for Penn National Gaming Inc.’s racino site remain under way and are entering the home stretch. “These negotiations are complex,” City Solicitor Norman Heitmann said Wednesday. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
AUGUSTA – Maine’s Passamaquoddy Tribe made good on its pledge Monday and turned in more than 61,000 petition signatures in an effort to place the question of a Washington County racino before the voters in November. Election officials at the Maine Secretary of State’s Office… Read More
AUGUSTA – A razor-thin, 17-16 Senate vote against creating a new tribal racino bill prompted a flurry of private meetings Thursday as proponents attempted to keep the proposal alive and encourage another vote next week. Without debate and with two members absent, the Senate voted… Read More
AUGUSTA – While legislative leaders conferred Wednesday with Passamaquoddy tribal leaders on a new racino bill, gambling opponents were preparing another campaign to defeat the legislation. A joint order of the House and Senate is expected to be approved today requiring the Legislature’s Legal and… Read More
CALAIS – A group hoping to bring a tribal racetrack casino to Washington County is paying people to circulate petitions that would put the proposal out to statewide referendum in November. The Washington County Tribal Track Coalition group was in Calais on Wednesday signing people… Read More
According to the year-end report for Hollywood Slots at Bangor, which opened its Main Street gaming facility to the public on Nov. 4, 2004, a total of $60,252,671 has been wagered so far on the facility’s 475 slot machines. The report shows that Hollywood Slots’… Read More
AUGUSTA – Assistance for people with an addiction to gambling was among the issues discussed last week by members of the Maine Gambling Control Board. Making sure such help is available is among the board’s charges. Work to that end began several months before the… Read More
BANGOR – Hollywood Slots has become Maine’s only commercial establishment to offer video poker, marking what could be the first of other new games of chance at the Main Street racing casino. Its owner, Penn National Gaming Inc., notified state officials last week of the… Read More
AUGUSTA – With the annual gambling industry slowdown now here, attendance at the Hollywood Slots at Bangor interim facility has evened out, General Manager Jon Johnson said Thursday during a meeting of the Maine Gambling Control Board. “Business has leveled off. It’s not slow, but… Read More
BANGOR – The financial benefits promised by proponents of the state slots law approved by Maine voters in 2003 are taking shape. A financial report released this week by the Maine Gambling Control Board shows that the 475 slot machines that went on line last… Read More
INDIAN ISLAND – Gaming opportunities may be increased at Penobscot Indian Nation’s Sockalexis Bingo Palace if bingo officials see a significant increase in interest with the arrival of slot machines a few miles away. Although no decision has been made, General Manager Miles Francis said… Read More
By now, it’s common knowledge that Penn National Gaming Inc. plans to build a $70 million-plus racino across Main Street from Bass Park, home of Bangor Raceway. What may not be known generally is a major reason the new facility is going there: The city… Read More
Nov. 18, 2002: Representatives of Capital Seven LLC, a Nevada-based company owned by entrepreneur Shawn Scott, present proposal for $30 million racino project for Bass Park during Bangor City Council committee meeting. March 23, 2003: City schedules local June referendum seeking permission to have slots… Read More
According to the first-month financial report for Hollywood Slots at Bangor, which opened its Main Street gaming facility to the public on Nov. 4, a total of $28,527,347 was wagered on the facility’s 475 slot machines during November. Players received a total of $26,559,027, according… Read More
BANGOR – Since it opened about a month ago, Hollywood Slots has been busy, with customers pumping more than a million dollars a day through the machines and the parking lot full most days and evenings. Businesspeople say it’s not rocket science that this should… Read More
BANGOR – The parking lot at Hollywood Slots on Main Street was nearly full by early afternoon Saturday, and most of the license plates read “Maine.” Sprinkled here and there throughout the lot were plates from Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Brunswick, but most of… Read More
BANGOR – Ka-ching! In the first 11 days Hollywood Slots operated in Bangor, patrons pumped more than $12.5 million into the gambling facility’s 475 slot machines, according to a financial report presented Tuesday to the Maine Gambling Control Board. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
Back when Las Vegas was just a dot in the desert and Hollywood was still a good place to grow bananas, you could put a nickel in a slot machine in Bangor, Maine, and win 50 cigars. Storm clouds were gathering on the horizon, however, as the county… Read More
BANGOR – For the second time since the city’s new racino opened, a small group of protesters picketed Friday afternoon outside Hollywood Slots on Main Street, carrying signs that equated gambling with damnation. Nine members of the local King James Bible Baptist Church spent about… Read More
Backers of a tribal racetrack casino in Washington County are making a heavy push for a statewide vote on the issue, collecting more than 20,000 signatures last week, organizers say, toward securing a spot on the 2006 ballot. “We are committed, and we will deliver,”… Read More
Everett Albertson of Canaan made the 40-mile drive to Bangor on Friday so that he could be one of the first to check out Maine’s first slots facility. Albertson, who is disabled, admitted he is a slots man. “That’s all I do,” the older man… Read More
AUGUSTA – There are not a lot of perks that go along with being a member of Maine’s Gambling Control Board or the Maine Harness Racing Commission, so the chance to rub shoulders with Marilyn Monroe or James Dean didn’t sound bad to Michael Peters – even if… Read More
BANGOR – Though Gov. John Baldacci did not attend because of another commitment, “Marilyn Monroe” and “James Dean” were on hand at the private party thrown Wednesday by Hollywood Slots at Bangor to thank some of the movers and shakers who played a role in bringing slot machines… Read More
BANGOR – City officials expect an influx of traffic this week along Main Street with the opening of Hollywood Slots at Bangor, but not the near-gridlock that accompanied last month’s opening of the Parkade mall on Stillwater Avenue. “We’ll watch it and, if necessary, we’ll… Read More
BANGOR – With the state’s first slots facility going on line this week, all eyes will be on Bangor – including the eyes scanning the monitors connected to the 120 surveillance cameras spread throughout the ceilings of the building. Those cameras, in little bubble enclosures,… Read More
BANGOR – The city will see some Hollywood-style glitz and glamour next week when Penn National Gaming Inc. opens its interim slots facility on Main Street. A red carpet, searchlights and celebrity look-alikes are among the touches people can expect to see during the Nov. Read More
AUGUSTA – Penn National Gaming Inc. plans to open its doors to bettors on Nov. 4, two years to the day after voters passed the 2003 state referendum that legalized slot machines at Maine’s commercial harness racing tracks. During a Tuesday meeting of the Maine… Read More
BANGOR – Members of the Maine Gambling Control Board have said in no uncertain terms that they won’t assume oversight of any forms of gambling other than slots unless asked to by state lawmakers. “At this point in time, we need their direction,” Chairman George… Read More
BANGOR – Penn National Gaming Inc.’s efforts to open a slots facility on Main Street ran into a problem Wednesday, after members of the Maine Gambling Control Board found themselves unable to issue one of Penn’s slot machine distributors the permanent license it was seeking. Read More
BANGOR – With the opening of Penn National Gaming Inc.’s slots facility less than two months away, councilors began talks Monday night on how best to use the city’s share of the proceeds. Though members of the council’s finance committee discussed a draft policy for… Read More
AUGUSTA – Opponents of slot machines in Maine have turned to former Gov. Angus King in search of leadership after correctly concluding that Gov. John Baldacci had no interest in repealing existing laws allowing limited casino gambling in the state. Fred Kilfoil of the Scarborough-based… Read More
BANGOR – After having witnessed the barrage of slots-related bills that went before state lawmakers last session, city councilors are calling for a three-year waiting period before any substantive changes are made to existing state law. A resolve urging the state’s legislative and executive branches… Read More
BANGOR – People from at least as far north as Millinocket and south as far as Waterville have been heading to Bangor for a crack at one of the roughly 130 positions that need to be filled before the November opening of Hollywood Slots at Bangor. Read More
AUGUSTA – Penn National Gaming Inc. on Thursday cleared the last major regulatory hurdle remaining for Hollywood Slots at Bangor, the interim slots facility it plans to open in November. In a series of unanimous votes, the five members of the Maine Gambling Control Board… Read More
BANGOR – It’s crunch time for Penn National Gaming Inc. With the opening of its Hollywood Slots in Bangor about three months away, renovations at the former Miller’s Restaurant on Main Street are in full swing. The former restaurant, which overlooks Bangor Waterfront, has been… Read More
CALAIS – A petition effort to bring the question of building a racetrack-casino in Washington County to a statewide vote got off to a strong start this weekend with proponents collecting signatures in Calais and Topsham. Proponents had not tallied the signatures collected by late… Read More
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… Read More
JUNEAU, Alaska – The main sponsor of an initiative proposal to bring video poker to Alaska is the mother of a controversial racetrack owner who has pushed for gambling initiatives in other states, including Maine. Victoria Scott said her son, Las Vegas investor Shawn Scott,… Read More
REVERE, Mass. – It used to be tough for Mike Vozzella to find a parking spot and a seat in the clubhouse at Wonderland Greyhound Park, his favorite after-work hangout for the past three decades. In the track’s heyday, thousands flocked there every day to… Read More
Gambling opponents won a major victory Thursday with Gov. John Baldacci’s announcement he would veto a plan for a statewide referendum on a tribal racetrack casino in Down East Maine. “Without hard data supporting the claims being set forth by the gambling industry, I cannot,… Read More
BANGOR – The Maine Gambling Control Board took the show on the road Thursday when members and staff came to City Hall to provide a briefing on the effort to bring slots to Bangor. “Our job is not to be opponents or proponents of the… Read More
The winding roads of Washington County feature some of the state’s most difficult terrain. But the twists and turns along rocky coastlines and rolling blueberry barrens pale in comparison to the turbulent path through Augusta of a plan for a tribal racetrack casino in Down… Read More
Although it has won strong support from Augusta lawmakers, a plan for a racetrack casino in Washington County faced an uncertain future Thursday after falling one vote shy in the Senate of the supermajority demanded by Gov. John Baldacci to fend off his looming veto. Read More
AUGUSTA – Penn National received initial approval Thursday to bring five slot machines to Bangor this fall for training purposes. Penn hopes to conduct the training at the former Miller’s Restaurant and Post Time off-track betting parlor on Main Street, where the company is gearing… Read More
AUGUSTA – After nearly two hours of talks with Gov. John Baldacci on Tuesday, tribal leaders emerged from the Blaine House unexpectedly cheerful, despite no change in the governor’s intention to veto their plan for a racetrack casino in Washington County. “Fruitful and positive,” Passamaquoddy… Read More