Gambling news in NH

[KBCraig]

My comment isn't showing at the moment, but it should be along shortly. 

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Courting+casino+cash%3a+A+budgetary+copout&articleId=2aeff6aa-82f2-4e25-a6d8-72ee4723c97b

Courting casino cash: A budgetary copout

THERE IS ONE reason and one reason only New Hampshire legislators are considering expanded gambling. It is to expand the size and scope of state government.

Lawmakers are studying slot machines at Rockingham Park because they want the tax revenue they presume such a venture would bring in. There is a group of lawmakers that has long wanted such revenue to dispense to favored constituencies. But the hunger for that cash is spreading thanks to the school funding legislation passed this summer.

The state has obligated itself to finance a host of new services, but it has not found the money (around $1 billion a year) to pay the bill. Enter slot machines. We predict that the pro-gambling forces will try to sell their projects by claiming that their revenue can help the state pay for its expanded educational responsibilities.

However, New Hampshire does not need the gamblers' money. It needs to budget better.

In Massachusetts, politicians desperately want gambling money to fix their crumbling roads and bridges and pay for schools. Why? Because they are incapable of setting priorities. They fund non-essential programs and services first, leaving core infrastructure to crumble.

We are smarter than that. Because of its low taxes, New Hampshire has always been forced to budget more responsibly than our southern neighbor. But some lawmakers, longing for the spending freedom their Massachusetts counterparts enjoy, hope the education funding crisis that will hit the state next year will finally open the gate to gambling revenue.

The truth, however, is that the state does not need that money. An adequate education can be had for far less. All we have to do to live within our means is set our priorities and budget responsibly.

[Fluff and Stuff]

I sure hope the expanded gaming happens; I always enjoy going to the casinos and watching other people spend their money 

There is even more talk about something like this in MA.  I hope it passes in both states.  Most states where I live have casinos...nothing like a little competition.

[error]

Wow, sounds like Jane's writing editorials for the UL now. Way to go!

[KBCraig]

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=River+Card+Room+gets+a+full+house+on+weekends&articleId=818e53dd-2d4d-44fc-b6fa-f35f0cbc2b20

River Card Room gets a full house on weekends
By NANCY FOSTER
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent

MILFORD – The River Card Room, a poker hall in Granite Town Plaza that gives a percentage of its profits to charity, is celebrating its grand opening this weekend.

The River Card Room, offering 25 tables of Texas Hold'em poker, has been up and running since January and has raised more than $40,000 for local charities, according to spokesman James Engel. Despite concerns from some Milford residents that the poker hall would bring crime to the west end of Milford, the first few months of operations for the card room have been smooth sailing.

According to River Card Room CEO Jim Rafferty, the River Card Room has brought a new life to an otherwise depressed part of town.

For years the building that the card room occupies was vacant, the parking lot in the Granite Town Plaza was largely empty and local fast food restaurants had packed up and moved on.

These days, especially on Thursdays and Sundays, the parking lot in front of the card room is full.

"We believe we're bringing life back to Elm Street and revitalizing the plaza," said Rafferty.

Milford wasn't Rafferty's first choice for a location for the card room. He tried unsuccessfully to establish a similar operation in Nashua, but residents thwarted his plans, so he began looking elsewhere.

"We wanted to be some place that people wanted us," he said. "Milford greeted us with open arms." More than a hundred people come to the River Card Room on a weekend night and sit around the bright blue felt tables playing hands of Texas Hold'em.

Under the state's gambling laws, poker and bingo halls can be licensed as long as at least 35 percent of the take goes to charity and a representative of the charity is present throughout the game night. Each charity is entitled to 10 gaming days each year. In order to keep the cards shuffling at a place like the River Card Room, the organizer must line up a series of charities that will accept the proceeds from the card games.

Though some charitable groups were reluctant to sign up with the River Card Room at first, Rafferty said, charities are now booked through 2008.

"The River Card Room is a good example of all the positive stuff that can come out of charity poker," said Engel, spokesman for the club. "Not one ?incident' - no police calls, no late night carousing, no bad element. Just guys - mostly guys - who enjoy a fun, strategy filled game, and the charities that benefit." On Thursday night there was an abundance of men playing poker, but only a few women. Rafferty said there's generally a male to female ratio of 80/20, but the River is working to change that.

"We're going to start hosting ladies' nights soon in order to encourage more women to come in," he said.

The River Card Room is also adding a new lineup of games, including all kinds of poker, blackjack, and even roulette and craps. At this point, the only drawback to the operation Rafferty sees is the state limit on placing bets.

Currently there's a $2 limit on betting which severely restricts the size of the pot and the number of people who want to play. By increasing the betting limit to $5, Rafferty said that serious poker players would have more of an incentive to play, the games would be more interesting and the charities would have bigger takes.

"If we had a bet limit of $5, everyone would be smiling," Rafferty said.

[freedominnh]

Very interesting.

[Lloyd Danforth]

They do something similar in Hinsdale

[Coconut]

I'm 100% for people spending their money how they want, but this government and it's views on being "against gambling for the public good... unless we really need the money" is going to end up hurting people no matter which way the chips fall.