By Renee Worthing
Register Reporter
   Sanford Town Councilors reversed their decision to deny licenses to operate poker machines in local private clubs, but the judgment came with a stipulation– to place a non-binding referendum on the November ballot to allow the public to have a say on whether poker machines should be allowed in town.   
   The council voted 5-2 to approve applications for the Wolves Club, VFW and Springvale Social Club. Councilors Anne Marie Mastraccio and Maura Herlihy did not vote to approve the applications with the referendum stipulation.
   In addition to Councilor Alan Walsh’s proposed referendum, Vice Chairman Maura Herlihy suggested drafting a poker machine ordinance, which would address the council’s concerns about potential misuse of the machines.
   In the past, the council has voted by a slim margin to approve poker machine licenses, but with the election of Walsh to the council in November, the majority of the votes shifted to the opposition.
   During the Dec. 2 meeting, the council denied an application for the Wolves Club to operate poker machines.
   “The Wolves Club is the only (poker machine) application to come before me since I took the (council) seat,” Walsh said. “It’s nothing personal toward the Wolves Club.”
   When the Wolves Club’s poker machine license was denied last month, members of various clubs that have poker machines, stood before the council, citing instances in which money from the machines was used to support non-profit organizations such as Waban Projects and to assist residents who were struggling financially.
   “I am opposed to gambling as a way to raise money,” Councilor Kevin Chabot said during the Jan. 15 council meeting.
   He expressed concern that poker machines are addictive and can harm the public.
   “I would rather see us discuss options to make ourselves more comfortable and better assured they are used legally,” Herlihy said.
  Chabot said it was a “tough decision” to vote against approving the machines.
   “Video poker machines are not a good way to collect money,” Chabot said.
   He said there is “little accountability and almost no enforcement.”
   “I am opposed to gambling as a means to generate money for charitable organizations. I think with one hand you are pulling someone up and with the other hand, you’re pushing someone down,” he said.
   He said in a meeting with the Wolves Club Manager Betty Lavigne, he was told the machines generate $60,000 a year of which $36,000 is net profit.
   “They told me these monies are given to charitable organizations and I have to believe them because there is no accountability in place,” Chabot said.
   He said whereas a bartender can “cut off” a patron who has had too much to drink, there is no way to monitor how much money someone feeds into a video poker machine.
   “The money made from these machines is not as free as people think. They come at a cost of people,” he said. “At what point does the government step in and tell people how to spend their money? The state of Maine condones (gambling) in some places and condemns it in others.”
   Several councilors said they received numerous phone calls and at least one letter suggesting the clubs illegally pay out cash on the machines, an allegation the clubs deny.
   In 2005, an investigation that involved the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9935 was launched at the request of the council.
   “There were some problems that were addressed,” VFW Quartermaster and Treasurer James Bachelder said.
   He also said he appreciated the council’s efforts to reach a compromise with the clubs.
   The Springvale Social Club, owned by the Knights of Columbus, also has poker machines.
   “I’m having a real hard time putting my mind around the issue of how we are going to regulate how people spend their discretionary incomes,” Springvale resident Glenn Dowey said. “We need to seriously think about how much we want to regulate and how much like Big Brother we are getting to be. Do we really want to be peeping into everyone’s bedrooms and into their financial affairs? Or is it frankly, none of our business?”
   He said he would like those who “have a problem” with the machines to gather signatures and initiate a referendum.
   “Let democracy work,” he said.
   Councilor Brad Littlefield said he supported the referendum idea, but warned the clubs to not “not even think of using separate books.”
   “Use the money the way you say you will, but if you step out of bounds, you’ll have big problems with me. That’s racketeering,” Littlefield said.
To contact Renee Worthing, call 282-4337     ext. 240 or emailnews@intheregister.com.