Some lawmakers say the recent vote sent a clear message Mainers don’t want racinos anywhere.

AUGUSTA (AP) – Scarborough Downs is turning its attention to the Maine Legislature as it seeks to keep alive its hope of installing slot machines, but it’s unclear how receptive lawmakers will be.

Following voters’ rejection of slot machines in Scarborough, Saco and Westbrook, the race track will be asking lawmakers both for more time and a broader geographic area to choose from.

Some lawmakers said they would support the requests, while others said voters sent a clear message Tuesday that they don’t want racinos.

The legislative debate begins next Wednesday, when the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee takes up Gov. John Baldacci’s proposal for amending the racino law passed by voters on Nov. 4.

The amendments Baldacci proposed include creating a new gaming commission and setting limits on the number of slot machines. But he does not support the changes sought by Scarborough Downs.

Scarborough Downs needs two things from the Legislature if it is to try to find a place that will accept slot machines in southern Maine.

It needs more time to woo another community and it needs to eliminate the current restriction that requires a new racino to be built within five miles of the existing racetrack in Scarborough.

Lee Umphrey, spokesman for Baldacci, said the governor is not interested in changing the deadline or lifting the five-mile restriction.

“Right now, that option is not on the governor’s menu, and there are no substitutions. It’s about oversight, not expansion,” Umphrey said.

Baldacci needs a two-thirds majority of the Legislature to approve his proposal. Otherwise, the changes he wants won’t apply in February when the racino law approved by voters on Nov. 4 takes effect.

The Downs is hoping legislators will amend Baldacci’s legislation to include the changes sought by the track, then use the promise of a two-thirds majority to force the governor to go along, said a Scarborough Downs lobbyist, Robert Tardy.

Assistant House Republican Leader David Bowles of Sanford supports lifting the restrictions. Bowles said he also thinks the racino referendum question was drafted in such a way to create a slot machine monopoly at Bangor Raceway.

But House Republican Leader Joseph Bruno of Raymond said the opposition to slot machines in southern Maine makes him doubtful the Legislature would back the changes wanted by the Downs.

And Senate Republican Leader Paul Davis of Sangerville said he’s not sure voters would have approved the referendum question if they thought it meant the track would relocate.

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