AUGUSTA (AP) – Another piece of the Bangor racino puzzle fell into place with the Maine Harness Racing Commission’s approval of simulcast racing for Penn National Gaming Inc.

The panel voted 5-0 Friday to grant the Pennsylvania-based company a state license to operate the off-track betting facility that it’s acquiring as part of its $3.8 million purchase of Miller’s Restaurant in Bangor. The panel granted the company the authority to conduct simulcast wagering in a separate 5-0 vote.

The off-track betting facility is part of Penn National’s plan to open a temporary gaming facility at the former Miller’s Restaurant around July 1, according to Steven Snyder, the company’s senior vice president for corporate development.

The company is beginning renovations aimed at turning the restaurant into a gaming facility that will house up to 500 slot machines, Snyder said. If all goes according to plan, that facility will be up and running by November or December.

As another aspect of that plan, the Post Time OTB that has operated out of the basement at Miller’s since mid-1994 will be moved to the Bangor Raceway grandstand.

The temporary facilities at the grandstand and at Miller’s eventually will be replaced with a $75 million permanent gaming complex that will house 1,500 slots and the off-track betting operation, officials said.

While the Bangor racino moved forward, a bill authorizing a tribal racetrack casino in Washington County is unlikely to win Gov. John Baldacci’s signature if it passes, press secretary Lynn Kippax said Friday.

“He’s sending the message to those who want the expansion of casino gambling that he doesn’t support it,” Kippax said.

News of the governor’s intentions came amid the release of the state fiscal office’s projection that within five years, a new tribal racetrack with 1,500 slot machines in Washington County would pump about $5 million a year into the state’s general fund.