A bill that would have allowed the Penobscot Nation to operate 400 slot machines at their high stakes bingo on Indian Island has been put on hold until next January. Knowing that the Governor of Maine would veto the bill, the sponsors of the legislation, which has strong support in both the House and Senate, decided to carry over the bill to the January session next year.

Governor John Baldacci last year vetoed a bill to allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe to run a harness track with up to 1,500 slot machines. That tribe collected the required 55,000 signatures to get the initiative on the referendum in November. The Penobscot will wait and try for their own referendum so as not to compete with the Passamaquoddy.

There are four Indian tribes in Maine, known collectively as the Wabanaki ‘those living at the sunrise’ (east). The Passamaquoddy and the Penobscot are unique in jointly having a representative in the Maine State Legislature. It is that representative, Donna Loring of the Penobscot Nation, who has sponsored the bill for Indian Island.

Since the slot machine venue at Bangor opened, the Indian bingo gaming has suffered a decline. For this reason the tribe want to add slot machines. The Maine Gambling Control Board has reported that last year the Hollywood Slots had gross revenue of US$564 million, over US$37 million net. The operation so far has less than 500 slot machines although by law they can have up to 1,500, which is the number the Passamaquoddy Tribe is seeking. (E-06.22.07)

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