NH: Say NO To Casinos in the Budget

Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling NoSlots.com Blog & Alerts   Listen to Reverend Linda Lea Snyder's bell-clear, high-ground testimony opposing casinos on behalf of the New Hampshire Council of Churches at last week's budget hearing: "We believe the proper role of government is to maintain order, to preserve justice and to promote the common good. Relying on a source of revenue which degrades our state in so many ways and exploits the most vulnerable members of our society is contrary to this principle." Only by joining Reverend Synder with your own testimony can we stop the casino lobby from getting its way in the House as it will in the Senate. Monday (tomorrow), March 11, 5-8 p.m. Nashua: Nashua Community College, 505 Amherst St. Whitefield: White Mountain High School, 127 Regional Rd. Monday, March 18, 5-8 p.m. Claremont: Sugar River Valley Technical Center, 111 South St. Rochester: 5-8 p.m., Rochester Community Center, 150 Wakefield St. Tips to be sure you are heard by our Representatives: Arrive 20-30 minutes early and sign up on the speaker sign-up sheet. Make your testimony clear, compelling, and not more than two minutes. If you can't make any of the House hearings, please phone your legislator. Key reasons for opposing slot machine casinos: Including casino revenues (licensing or otherwise) in the 2014-15 budget is a recipe for budget chaos and broken promises, due to the 2 year minimum delay required to adopt regulations, select among competing casino bidders, complete background checks, secure local permits, and conclude litigation. The New England casino market is saturated, limiting NH to local-market convenience casinos and slots barns which will not attract promised out-of-state gambling dollars. Casinos would unfairly cannibalize jobs and consumer spending from thousands of existing New Hampshire businesses and nonprofits, which are often integral parts of our local communities. A single Salem casino would create 10,000 new gambling addicts and cause 1,200 additional serious and violent crimes per year, according to the Governor's Gaming Study Commission. Only 10 percent of gambling addicts use available addiction treatment programs. Slot machine casinos would wipe out charity gaming. As in every casino state, the casino lobby would dominate and then corrupt state politics. If even one is legalized, there is no viable means to stop casinos and tacky slot machine venues from proliferating throughout the state. Silence is capitulation, Jim Rubens, Chair   Donate To GSCAEG 30 Reasons To Oppose Slot Casinos

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