Gambling night good . . .
No-Limit Texas Holdem Tournament better.
Apparently a charity in New Hampshire can get a permit to run 10 tournaments during a year, after which they must provide a VERY detailed report of what was done, see this article for some slight detail (http://pokermag.com/managearticle.asp?c=310&a=8429)
I went to an event in Massachusetts run by Caponespokertables.com on Saturday.? They rent out poker tables and provide chips as well as help train dealers.? I believe he has a few friends who can help out dealing (in MA the person providing equipment is not allowed to provide paid dealers, don't know how it goes in NH)? It would be helpful to have volunteers who know how to shuffle and deal cards if you plan to have a large number of people at the event.?
I am not sure if he has a different set of chips for New Hampshire, because the ones he used in Massachusetts had monetary values on them.? In New Hampshire you likely could have numbers, but no dollar sign and call them "units" as the poker room in the race track I went to in Florida did.? I dropped him an email asking about this and if he does events for New Hampshire in case you're interested.
Picking the right organizer can be a big help, Saturday there were around 36 people there, which is a smaller turnout than one might like.? At least 25 of them were people who just went to where that organizer set up shop, they had no interest in the charity.? It was a $125 buy-in, and the guy running it said there would be more people if the buy-in were $100.
Based on my own experience in running a poker tournament in Massachusetts, pre-buys are essential.? Not running it on the same night as a Red Sox Yankees game is also essential.? Mostly, who you pick to help run and advertise it is a big factor as well (we did not choose well the first time).? If you get enough people at $100, or if you really want to attract more perhaps a bit less, you can make a nice chunk of change for the LSF.? One way to get pre-buys is to offer a discount for pre-registration over what you pay at the door.? Another way to attract people is satellite tournaments for a couple of hours before the main event.? On Saturday they started at 5:30 with $30 buyin tournaments, 10 people and the top two winning entry into the main $125 tournament at 7:30.? The extra $50 goes to the charity.?
While some of these organizers charge you a percentage of your gross take, Capones charges you for table rental.? If you have a good turnout this is a boon to you, if your turnout sucks, not so good.? Another lesson learned, don't order food until after the tournament starts (tournaments generally feed the players after 1 hour of play).
Giving out a few ounces of gold to the winner along with cash might be a neat thing, though most poker players would probably rather have the cash.? Something to consider, but I'd lean towards cash.
The winter time is a good period to hold these things, and with 10 a year if the LSF can find a good locatation, run a good game, and get a good following you could end up giving out a lot of scholarships next year.
I think that would be a great idea (plus, I LOVE poker!).
The $100 tournaments around here usually get 60-100 people, and it could be run as a percentage game (ie. the grand prize could be a % of the take.)
Just a thought!
JM
I don't gamble -I have a perfectly good toilet at home that I can flush money down.
But I'm the last person to JUDGE anyone else.
The house usually does quite well when it hosts events like this. It might be a fun way to raise money.
Generally with charity tournaments the house takes a portion of the buy-in, usually 50% and the rest goes toward the payouts. The house will have expenses, such as hall rental, advertising, food, and the equipment rental to deal with, but still if you get enough people you can make a decent amount of money.
If New Hampshire allows cash payouts (the AG in MA says that you can't), having it in Nashua or Salem and advertising cash payouts may draw quite a few Massachusetts players. Doing something like offering $50 to the chip leader at each break might also be useful, since out of 100 people generally only 8 will collect money. With more people you can have more payouts, but it's still a small percentage of the total players. During game prizes might attract more people.
Quote from: polyanarch on October 19, 2005, 01:24 PM NHFT
I don't gamble -I have a perfectly good toilet at home that I can flush money down.
But I'm the last person to JUDGE anyone else.?
The house usually does quite well when it hosts events like this.? It might be a fun way to raise money.
Poker is not gambling, it is a skill. I'll be there!
It is a skill I am not familiar with. I think I'll watch!
If this happens, there would be a need for dealers. The people providing equipment will teach volunteers what to do. If you think you might want to volunteer to deal, watch some of the poker on ESPN or the Travel channel, or FSN or . . . well, anything but Bravo to get an idea of how the game is structured as far as antes and blinds go.
I played two games tonight, lost both of them! Ugh!
JM
"I am not sure if he has a different set of chips for New Hampshire, because the ones he used in Massachusetts had monetary values on them. In New Hampshire you likely could have numbers, but no dollar sign and call them "units" as the poker room in the race track I went to in Florida did. "
Maybe we could be original and denominate the #s in gold or silver.
JonM .... could you organize one in SoNH for the LSF?
Maybe it could be a little more low-keyed and have smaller overhead, so the buy-in could be low. :)
I could help do one, but if the laws are like they are in MA an officer of the organization would likely need to be in charge. The overhead from the guy who ran the one in Everett is fixed, but at 100 people it's probably around normal, so you couldn't do a low buy-in. He provides professional poker tables similar to the design you see in poker rooms. I believe he sells them for $450 each. He did say he can run events in NH.
You could buy you own chips and go without an organizer, but then you need to do all your own advertising. The organizer brings their own following, so that's a few less people you need to get to sign up. The other issue with using off the shelf chips is someone sneaking in their own. Bad enough with the vast array of 11.5 gram chips with the same pattern out there, but the organizer we used had a few chips in his set that wasn't even part of it, they came from a cheap plastic set sold at Kohls and BB&B and such. Sigh.
Having chips made is possible, but not cheap (in quantity). You can get the 11.5 gram metal insert chips for like 25 cents or less a chip, printed for 5 cents a side perhaps a bit less. You can get totally custom chips for 75 cents or so each with printing on the edge. Of course, the cooler your chips look, the more likely someone is to walk off with a few . . . Casinos don't care, the cost per chip is less than the face value. Not the same for tournaments though.
For 100 players if you do a normal sort of chip distribution for 3000 chips, you need 400 $25 chips, 400 $100 chips, 300 $500 chips, and 100 $1000 chips. Because of low limits at the start, you need a lot of those $25 chips, so for 200 people . . . it adds up quick. You also need higher value chips for when the blinds go up, so a batch of $5000 chips, and plenty of $500 and $1000 chips to replace the value of the $25 and $100 chips you eventually take out of play. 1500 custom chips represents a bit of an investment. You could perhaps lower that by having more custom chips made up in a different design to sell, but the ones you sell would have to be completely different looking on the top and on the side (when they're stacked) so someone couldn't bring them in.
During the World Series of Poker this year, during one of the early events they discovered some of the souvenir $100 chips sold for 49 cents at the gift shop had been introduced into play. (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/poker/news/story?id=2097513)
Hence, it's probably better to partner with someone, at least in the beginning. With only 10 events allowed per year, that limits the return you could get for doing it all your self. Now were the LSF to eventually form chapters in different towns, and those chapters were able to get their own permits to each run 10 events, then it might be doable for one chapter to provide the equipment to the other ones. In that situation you could do much lower buy-ins, but of course the prize money would be lower as well, and it's the potential of the big payout that draws a lot of people to these.
You know, if you had five or six charities, you could run one tournament a week...
Quote from: JonM on October 21, 2005, 11:38 AM NHFT
I could help do one, but if the laws are like they are in MA an officer of the organization would likely need to be in charge.
If one of them likes the idea, then that is solved.
When I brought up $ or what the chips could say, I didn't mean inventing chips. I thought you said that you saw a tournament with just #s.
Title idea
"Texas Hold 'em ...... for the children."
maybe we should invent our own lottery :)
I think the point of the NH law is that you can't cash in the chips for actual value. How they interpret that is the question, not having $ on it helps, but if they don't want to make a stink, then it probably doesn't matter either way.
Those darn states have a monopoly on lotteries . . . before that it was called running numbers, wasn't it? Somehow all those people vanished when the state started a lottery.
Hey Mike, you gonna weigh in on this?
Numbers are still out there and offer better odds than lotto.
and aren't a form of taxation... I try in vain to convince my friends and family they shouldn't play the state lotto (and in WV, the state runs video poker, too).? ?:-\
Quote from: polyanarch on October 19, 2005, 01:24 PM NHFT
I don't gamble -I have a perfectly good toilet at home that I can flush money down.
But I'm the last person to JUDGE anyone else.
The house usually does quite well when it hosts events like this. It might be a fun way to raise money.
As much as I agree with you about gambling. I'm not sure I agree that Poker is a game of chance. If a game isn't a game of chance, it's not gambling is it? It's just, playing a game for money.
Or do I not know what gambling is. If you're good at Poker, you're really not flushing money away. If you're bad -- well, then you are.
Tracy
This is a GREAT idea. :o 8)
It's also an incentive to form local scholarship funds because each one can hold 4 tournaments per year. :)
Can someone give me an idea of the financial investment and risk involved? Thanks!
I'm not sure how cheaply the investment can be made, but there's practially zero risk. In poker you aren't playing against the house. The house takes a predetermined percentage of the prize pool, the rest of which goes to the winners.
I know the game well enough to deal or even supervise/coordinate, but of course I'd prefer to PLAY!
So, 25 scholarship funds, would mean about two tournaments a week. Are we ready to open a gaming house yet? >:D
I'd happily deal...........
JM
A permanent one would be great..... it could happen at the bookstore/cafe/brewpub.
Rocketman gets you liquored up so he can beat you easier.
Let us not get ahead of ourselves. I am told Jan-March is a prime time for this sort of thing. If we wanted to do something sooner we bump into all the holiday stuff people busy themselves with, and all the money they're spending on that.
It would be best to hold the first one in either the Nashua or Salem area to get people from Massachusetts to help fund the cause.
Quote from: Eli on October 24, 2005, 08:43 AM NHFT
So, 25 scholarship funds, would mean about two tournaments a week.? Are we ready to open a gaming house yet? >:D
Yes! :o
>:D >:D >:D >:D >:D
Hit 'em before they get to the holidays and blow all their money. :)
I don't think there's any limit to how many organizations someone can be a board member of. ? ;)
We'll bring other worthy charities into our gaming house. ?Eventually they'll have to ban gambling altogether in order to stop the LSF's uncontrollable growth.
Then they'll be exposed for the tyrants they truly are. :o
Quote from: russellkanning on October 24, 2005, 02:21 PM NHFT
Hit 'em before they get to the holidays and blow all their money. :)
Good thinking!
EVERYTIME is prime season for TH'em...... Make sure to announce it in the Monadnock Shopper if it's gonna be around Keene - That's where the players around here look for the new games......
JM
Every time but summer, they all shut down during the summer months here. If we can pick a location and a general date I can get to finding someone to help us pull this off.
Dude, if you were their I'd organize a Chess tournament. I'm registered and everything with the U.S. Chess Federation.
We could even do rated tournaments.
We could actually do a Scholastic Chess tournament with LSF as the Sponsor.
Chess brings out a lot of weird excentric people -- exactly the type we're looking for probably.
Chess and Education go hand in hand.
We could have a network. If we had local LSF's set up. Each one could do a tournament, say in April, and then the top 3 or 4 from each area could go to State.
All procedes go to the LSF, plus it's be excellent outreach.
In my experience Homeschoolers love chess.
Tracy
You could do that where you are, no? And still donate it to the LSF?
I could actually.
Once I get my debts paid and free up some time.
I'll get more involved locally here in the next 8 months.
Tracy
Cool :)
BTW, do we have any testimonials from people who got scolorships in previous years?
That's sometehing people really need. They want to make sure their money is really making a difference in the lives of individual people.
Tracy
I sent you a PM about this Milke, did you get it?
Quote from: tracysaboe on October 24, 2005, 07:50 PM NHFT
BTW, do we have any testimonials from people who got scolorships in previous years?
That's sometehing people really need. They want to make sure their money is really making a difference in the lives of individual people.
Tracy
Should we hold a fundraiser for Tracy? He either needs phonics or typing training. ;D
You could ask kat to enable the spell check module, that would be a start.
Yeah, I m/sp Scholarship and used the wrong there, And m/sp Testimonials
I Mistyped something.
Do we have a tentative date on this yet? Place? I've got two people right here now that would probably sign up to play if there were a time and place. :)
JM
Quote from: tracysaboe on October 24, 2005, 07:50 PM NHFT
BTW, do we have any testimonials from people who got scolorships in previous years?
That's sometehing people really need. They want to make sure their money is really making a difference in the lives of individual people.
Tracy
Good idea. :) I'll put testimonials up from those who signed the confidentiality release.
Quote from: JonM on November 01, 2005, 10:39 AM NHFT
I sent you a PM about this Milke, did you get it?
Yes, I did. We should definitely go ahead with plans for the tournament, but I don't think it should be anything fancy - it's just not necessary. Since we're a scholarship fund, we could even have people bring food and drinks like we do with meet and greets and other social events.
Does anyone have a link to state gambling laws? We need to review these first so the state doesn't annoy us too much. Then again, being annoyed by the government would be good publicity. ;D Just kidding! ;)
Jon, how would you like to be a Fundraising Organizer for the LSF? :) I've known you for a long time and trust you.
In any case, don't let job titles get in the way - feel free to set a time and place and do this at your convenience! :) I'm sure several Board members will oversee the event anyways.
I'm working on getting a more accessible website, like a Wiki perhaps, so you could literally organize and promote the event on our website.
Maybe Kat will allow us to host the LSF on her NH Underground wiki so we don't have to deal with creating and managing our own wiki. Then we could pay our $100 per year to her instead of Web.com for hosting.
What do you say, Kat? ;)
Maybe the NH underground should be on a server in the Free State! Since he.net wasn't willing to do domain aliasing, getting lsfund.org on their server doesn't look good.
I can help organize this one, not sure how much impact I can have on other events until I get my butt up to NH.
Quote from: JonM on November 01, 2005, 04:17 PM NHFT
Maybe the NH underground should be on a server in the Free State!? Since he.net wasn't willing to do domain aliasing, getting lsfund.org on their server doesn't look good.
I can help organize this one, not sure how much impact I can have on other events until I get my butt up to NH.
I don't really know of any affordable and reputable hosting companies in New Hampshire. There's one in Manchester but I don't know their name or how much they cost.
What's your timeline to come here? We could organize events closer to where you live if you want.
New state controls are in place, making sure that no one plays poker without state approval.
Since when is poker a "game of chance"? Poker has always been regarded as a game of skill. The element of chance is no more relevant to the outcome of a poker game, than the element of chance is relevant to the outcome of football or baseball.
Kevin
http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=State+raises+stakes+on+charity+gambling&articleId=2ea423dc-28c8-4f63-a0c5-1e2a252bf540
State raises stakes on charity gambling
By JOHN WHITSON
Union Leader Staff
The idea that New Hampshire has restricted gambling to racetracks and lottery tickets, standing fast against a tidal wave of gaming, is quaint.
It?s also inaccurate.
There are legal poker games every day of the year all over the state, with thousands of dollars in prize money to be had.
?Of course there is gambling,? said Richard Bouley, a lobbyist who represents the gaming industry. ?It?s just not on a large scale.?
The popularity growth of poker nationwide in recent years ? particularly Texas Hold ?Em ? triggered a change in state law that took effect Wednesday and transferred oversight authority from municipal police departments to the state Pari-Mutuel Commission.
Paul Kelley, the commission?s director, said the change will bring all games of chance under one jurisdictional roof. The commission already oversees racetrack wagering and bingo. ?With (poker) there was no state oversight,? he said.
State Rep. Kenneth Weyler, R-Kingston, was the prime sponsor of House Bill 1744. In addition to jurisdictional changes, the law establishes a variety of rules that now govern poker games.
The biggest change is a mandate that at least 35 percent of all money generated by poker and casino nights, after prizes are doled out, must go to the sponsor charity.
?We very much wanted to protect the charities,? said Weyler, ?supervise the games and make sure they were fair. It?s not the wild west with Texas Hold ?Em any more.?
Games of chance in New Hampshire have long been restricted to charity events, but prior to Wednesday there was no regulation on how much, or how little, poker games run by so-called ?solicitors? turned over to charity each night.
In fiscal year 2006, which ended June 30, 362 applications for games of chance were approved, said Audrey Blodgett, a paralegal with the charitable trust unit of the Attorney General?s Office. Some games were one-night events, but they all had the legal right to run for 10 days.
?It significantly increased about three years ago,? she said, ?when the Travel Channel and Bravo started televising Texas Hold ?Em.?
Along with 501-C3 nonprofits, veterans and fraternal organizations, churches, police and fire associations are allowed to sponsor games of chance
Blodgett said gross revenue from the games ranges from $1,800 to $22,000 per night.
Charities are limited to 10 days each year to be involved with poker tournaments and ?Monte Carlo? nights which involve other games of chance such as roulette wheels and blackjack.
Charities can get a location, rent equipment, advertise and, if required by municipal law, hire police. Or, they can turn over all those details to one of seven game solicitors registered with the Attorney General?s Office.
Those solicitors set up the games and, because state law requires members of the sponsoring charity to actually run the games, train people how to deal cards and run roulette wheels.
?A lot of your charities wouldn?t know what to do if this wasn?t available,? said Bouley. ?They?d really be in trouble. Certainly we want the charities to make their money, but the bills have got to be paid.?
?I think they?re going to put us out of business,? said Roland Bernatchez, co-owner of New Hampshire Poker. ?I won?t survive unless business increases dramatically.?
N.H. Poker started hosting games in March 2005 at Mark?s Showplace in Bedford, but this year has been at The Yard restaurant in Manchester three nights a week. The group also travels to charity halls and other venues to run the games.
Unloading equipment Thursday afternoon at The Yard for a tournament to benefit Prayer Hall, Bernatchez said that on a good night he may gross $3,000 through entry fees and betting, which is restricted to $2 per play.
Since Manchester requires it, a police officer must be hired each night at about $40 per hour. Poker tournaments often run from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m., so police detail alone cuts $400 out of the pot, he said. After paying rent to The Yard, paying employees and other expenses, Bernatchez said he often doesn?t walk away with much.
Before Wednesday, N.H. Poker used a contract that guaranteed charities 10 percent of nightly gross or 20 percent of the net, whichever was the larger figure. After the charity?s money is factored out, 50 percent of the remainder goes to the night?s top player.
?We have had shows where we?ve paid the charity $1,500 and lost money,? said Bernatchez.
Bumping the charity take to 35 percent after prizes is simply unrealistic, he said. Expenses are fixed, he said, and reducing prize money would mean fewer customers.
Members of Friends of Grizzlies Wrestling were dealing out cards for Texas Hold ?Em at three tables Thursday afternoon at Amoskeag Bingo Center in Manchester. Tri-State Gaming Consultants recently bought the facility, which is split in half ? bingo on one side, poker on the other.
?Bingo is still king,? said Kenneth Donoghue, manager of Sharkey?s Poker Room at the bingo center. ?But poker hasn?t even come close to reaching its potential.?
Wednesday night bingo draws 300 people, he said, while an average night at Sharkey?s attracts about 100. The poker room, however, is open six days a week and plans to expand to seven.
Donoghue acknowledged he sometimes seeks out charities to host the events, but repeat business and referrals often come to him. The demand is so high, he said, that Sharkey?s is booked in 10-day blocks through Sept. 14.
The new requirement that 35 percent of a game?s take after prizes must go to the sponsor charity won?t change things at Sharkey?s, vowed Donoghue. He said the games have been operating right around that figure anyway.
?The minimum we?ve ever raised for charity, I want to say, is $4,000 (over a 10-day period),? he said.
But his group hasn?t always hit the 35 percent mark now required by law.
Last year, Tri-State Gaming hosted 10 days of poker at Scoreboard Sports Lounge in Portsmouth to benefit Club Mont Royal in Manchester. According to documents on file at the Attorney General?s Office, revenue totaled $95,435 and $58,434 in prizes were awarded.
After Tri-State?s expenses were paid, the club walked away with $7,784. That?s not bad for 10 days of play, and it?s nearly double Donoghue?s $4,000 baseline figure. But Club Mont Royal?s money represents just 21 percent of revenue after prizes, and would be considered illegal under current law.
In a worst-case scenario, records show the Greater Manchester Lodge of Elks 146 actually lost $5,003 from nine days of Texas Hold ?Em last year. Revenue from those games, run by Granite State Fundraising of Nashua, peaked the first night at $1,790 and bottomed out at $130 before the 10th night of games was canceled.
?We had planned it as a fundraiser and it was not successful at all,? said Jean Pelletier, a former lodge trustee. Any money raised was to go to ?a camp up north for underprivileged children,? he said.
Pelletier said people simply didn?t come out to play. Attempts to reach Granite State Fundraising for comment were unsuccessful.
http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=NH+poker%3aRed+tape+ends+game+for+charities&articleId=04185121-1d9e-43a7-b3d5-3f1a7e251ad1
NH poker:Red tape ends game for charities
By JOHN WHITSON
Union Leader Staff
Concord ? The new state law regulating games of chance -- primarily aimed at Texas Hold 'Em poker -- came under fire from a packed house of people representing charitable organizations yesterday.
The law transfers oversight of the games from municipalities to the Pari-Mutuel Commission, and yesterday's session was held to outline new rules and responsibilities.
Many of the 150 people in the Department of Health and Human Services auditorium said the law asks too much of small organizations composed primarily of volunteers.
"That's the end of Texas Hold 'Em as far as the Bedford Men's Club is concerned," said Bill Burns, the group's treasurer. "It's way too burdensome. What it means is that anybody who wants to comply with the rules will have to go to professional gaming operators."
The law requires organizations to complete a nearly 20-page application to get a license, which allows them to hold games of chance 10 days per year.
Criminal background checks are required for every member of an organization, such as a Lion's Club or an American Legion post, who volunteers to help with the event, including people serving food and drinks.
Two passport-style photos must also be submitted by each person involved from a charity. Charities must now pay the state $25 per night for the games -- a $250 charge for 10 days of games -- when previously there was a one-time $25 charge to local police departments. Game expenses must also be drawn from a charity's checking account established solely for that purpose.
"Are you actually telling me that for my 10 poker games I have to have a separate checkbook?" asked Susan MacNeil, executive director of AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region. "That's insane."
MacNeil lamented having to resort to gambling to remain solvent, and complained that the new law penalizes the wrong people.
"You should have been going after the unscrupulous dealers," said MacNeil, addressing Pari-Mutuel Commission Director Paul Kelley and other state officials directing the session.
"This is incredibly onerous for a small organization," said MacNeil. "I think it's outrageous."
Kelley repeatedly told the crowd that he and commission gaming inspectors now charged with enforcement are simply carrying out the will of the state Legislature.
The law requires that at least 35 percent of all gross proceeds from a gaming event go to the sponsoring charity after prizes are paid.
Some charities choose to hold their own fund-raising events, while many turn to professional gaming consultants -- there are seven licensed in New Hampshire -- to advertise and stage the games.
"We're trying to ensure as much money as possible goes to charities," said Kelley.
Burns said his members considered hiring a gaming consultant for three nights of poker held over the past two years, but decided they'd be better off financially going it alone.
"We did a heck of a lot better than 35 percent," he said. "We all had fun, (the gamblers) had fun, and we gave it all away."
Kelley assured the crowd that the Pari-Mutuel Commission will honor all games of chance authorized by chiefs of police prior to July 19, when the law took effect.
While Texas Hold 'Em has emerged in recent years as the most popular form of charity gambling, the law also regulates games such as craps, black jack and roulette.
State Rep. Kenneth Weyler, R-Kingston, primary sponsor of the measure, said lawmakers had to put safeguards such as background checks into the law to appease the "anti-gambling crowd."
"It may be harder on the smaller, than the larger (charities), but hopefully that will all be worked out," said Weyler. "Everything's a compromise."
State Rep. Hector Velez, D-Manchester, asked people in the crowd unhappy with the legislation to "look in the mirror."
Velez said lobbyists and gaming consultants attended a few public sessions when the language was being crafted, but just one charity group showed up.
Those comments drew a hot response from several people who said they weren't notified of the legislative sessions and that, even if they had been, they would have had to take time off from work to attend.
Concord lobbyist Richard Bouley told the crowd it still has two avenues to make changes to the law.
An 11-member commission to study the legislation will soon be established, he said, and two of its members must represent charities. Also, the games of chance rules are now labeled "interim." They expire Jan. 21, 2007, and will be superseded by rules that go into effect for eight years.
"If we don't like some of the things (in the law), we need to change it," said Bouley. "We need to contact our legislators."
Good CD opportunity
Quote from: KBCraig on July 27, 2006, 02:51 AM NHFT
http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=NH+poker%3aRed+tape+ends+game+for+charities&articleId=04185121-1d9e-43a7-b3d5-3f1a7e251ad1
State Rep. Kenneth Weyler, R-Kingston, primary sponsor of the measure, said lawmakers had to put safeguards such as background checks into the law to appease the "anti-gambling crowd."
"It may be harder on the smaller, than the larger (charities), but hopefully that will all be worked out," said Weyler. "Everything's a compromise."
State Rep. Hector Velez, D-Manchester, asked people in the crowd unhappy with the legislation to "look in the mirror."
Velez said lobbyists and gaming consultants attended a few public sessions when the language was being crafted, but just one charity group showed up.
Those comments drew a hot response from several people who said they weren't notified of the legislative sessions and that, even if they had been, they would have had to take time off from work to attend.
Thanks RINO!.
But Hector makes a good point. The leg doesn't have to notify you of squat. This is going to be HUGE for liberty fans. I mean we have people scouring every new bill. Hopefull nothing will slip past us. One thing that will need to be worked out for next year is that we need to call other groups to fight with us on particular bills that interest them.
Quote
State Rep. Hector Velez, D-Manchester, asked people in the crowd unhappy with the legislation to "look in the mirror."
Velez said lobbyists and gaming consultants attended a few public sessions when the language was being crafted, but just one charity group showed up.
Man... reminds me of some thieves I've had to deal with, who justified their theft by blaming the victim for not securing the goods. "Man, it was sitting right there with the keys in it. It's not my fault!"
Thieves of goods and thieves of liberty share their sociopathy. It's never their fault; they have no choice; if only the victim had done the right thing... ::)
Kevin
Not sure how this is going, but I did see some articles on a good wordpress blog about some activity in Nashua. Does anyone know how this turned out?
City panel plays hold 'em with poker hall ban (Nashua, NH)
July 19th, 2007 • No Comments
"Charitable gambling is licensed by the state. It has been legal in New Hampshire for 10 years, but a change in the law last year allowed charities to hire a professional company to run the games.
The cost of running the poker games, including rent and salaries, would be paid out of the company's 65 percent take. Charities would receive 35 percent of the profits.
Under state law, an individual charity could be the recipient of gaming proceeds for up to 10 days a year. Rafferty's company proposes lining up 35 charities so that the poker games could be held nearly all year long.
Rafferty said the games would raise at least $1,000 a day for the charities, or a total of $10,000 for each organization. He now has 15 charities lined up, and representatives of many of them spoke against the ordinance that would prohibit the gambling downtown."
Nashua Telegraph (07/18/07)
http://pokercares.wordpress.com/2007/07/19/city-panel-plays-hold-%e2%80%99em-with-poker-hall-ban-nashua-nh/
Legal: Alderman not convinced gambling belongs downtown (Nashua, NH)
July 9th, 2007 • No Comments
"Marc Plamondon isn't sure that bringing charity poker games to downtown Nashua is such a good idea.
Plamondon, the Ward 4 alderman, has proposed an ordinance that would prohibit gaming – except for bingo and Lucky 7's – in two downtown districts that stretch from Library Hill south to Otterson Street.
A company called New Hampshire Charitable Gaming is eying the former ArcLight store on West Pearl Street as a site for the games. The company looked at St. Stanislaus Hall but withdrew its plans because of neighborhood opposition.
A hearing on Plamondon's proposal will be held before the city Planning and Economic Development Committee on July 17."
Nashua Telegraph (07/08/07)
http://pokercares.wordpress.com/2007/07/09/legal-alderman-not-convinced-gambling-belongs-downtown-nashua-nh/
The Elks on the Daniel Webster Highway, just north of the overpass that is exit 2 of Route 3 have given up their hall for a poker room. It runs 7 days a week and the last time I was there a week or two ago they were installing a roulette wheel. The company who runs it is here: http://www.playnhpoker.com
How would you guys like to do this at next summers Burning Porcupine?