Penobscots Trying for Slot Machines

The Penobscot Indian Nation would like to bring in slot machines to their reservation on Indian Island, as they say they need to compete with other slot machines in the state – namely those at Bangor’s Hollywood Slots. They say that since the casino opened their slot machines, they have lost considerable amounts of revenue to the casino. They would like to bring in 400 slot machines for high stakes bingo games.

The tribe says that Penn National Gaming’s new slot machine facility has been taking revenue from them since they opened at the end of 2005, and that the money is coming from their community – and they need it desperately. They say they just want to be able to compete with them, which they cannot do right now.

With the casino planning on expanding and bringing in more slot machines to bring them up to somewhere around 1,500 – the tribe will be looking at further revenue loss. Now the Passamaquoddy Tribe is trying to get as many as 1,500 slot machines, which will still be under the state limit of 3,000. The Penobscots say that they need the income to support their emergency and social services, which are their main source of income.

With the proposal sitting before the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee, and the House and the Senate considering the Passamaquoddy Tribe’s slot machine request it could get legalized. However, the governor and the city of Bangor have called for a halt on all new gambling operations, so they could make it difficult for the tribe to get approved.



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