Maine Makes Big Bucks from Slots, Worried about Problem Gamblers
According to a report recently filed with the state, gamblers spent over $60 million playing slots in Maine's first slot machine casino in Bangor during the first two months of the facility's operation.The report shows that Bangor's Hollywood Slots collected more than $4.1 million, of which the facility's parent company, Penn National Gaming, Inc., paid nearly $2 million to the state.
With these year-end numbers, the Maine Gambling Control Board moves forward with discussions on existing and potential gambling addicts, searching for ways of helping them overcome their problem. Gambling board Executive Director Robert Welch was reported as saying that, currently, state officials have almost nothing to offer problem gamblers, treatment-wise.
Now that the state has opened its first slots parlor, Gambling board members believe that the entire situation must be altered. As a first step, Hollywood Slots employees are encouraging addicted gamblers to call a nationwide hotline at the National Council on Problem Gambling. A percentage of slots revenues are already allocated for compulsive gambling treatment, particularly for counseling services.
