N.H. House delays vote on expanded gaming

The Granite State conducted an INDEPENDENT COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS, unlike Massachusetts, that determined the COSTS outweigh the revenues.

The Gambling Industry, unable to take NO! keeps hovering and salivating to suck those discretionary dollars out of the local economy.

Much like Massachusetts, it seems New Hampshire has lawmakers unable to conduct research or digest the economic facts of community destruction that accompanies Predatory Gambling.



N.H. House delays vote on expanded gaming
By Doug Ireland

A House vote was delayed yesterday on legislation that could bring a casino to Rockingham Park in Salem.

The vote on House Bill 593 was postponed because lawmakers needed time to review amendments to the legislation, according to House Speaker D.J. Bettencourt, R-Salem.

The House voted, 257-91, to send the bill back to the House Ways and Means Committee, where a hearing on the three amendments will be held Monday, he said.

One amendment would expand the number of casinos allowed under the bill from two to four, increasing the chance of one being located in Salem.

Some legislators, including Rep. Christopher Serlin, D-Portsmouth, questioned if there was a delay because House Republican leaders didn't have the support to override a veto promised by Gov. John Lynch.

"The only reason not to was because you don't have the votes," Serlin said. "Vote it up or down. ... On a bill like this, I'm not surprised."

Serlin, who opposes expanded gaming, said most lawmakers already know how they will vote — regardless of amendments.

Jim Rubens, spokesman for the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling, also said he thinks GOP leaders delayed the vote to avoid a veto.

"They would have gone down in flames if they voted on it," he said. "It's no surprise — they didn't have the votes. They saw the handwriting on the wall."

Rubens' group opposes the legislation, and three other gaming-related bills to be heard today, because he said they would harm the quality of life in New Hampshire.

Allowing casino gambling brings crime and corruption, he said.

Some lawmakers — both Republicans and Democrats — said delaying the vote was a wise move. It had nothing to do with avoiding a potential veto, they said.

"I don't think it's any kind of maneuvering move," Rep. James Garrity, R-Atkinson, said.

Garrity already knows how he will vote.

"I'm against any expanded gambling," he said. "I'm voting no, no, no, no matter what it comes down to. I don't think gambling is right for the state."

New Hampshire needs business, but not casinos, he said.

"Revenues have to be earned the old-fashioned way — through frugality and hard work," Garrity said.

Both Bettencourt and Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Stepanek, R-Milford, sponsors of two amendments, denied any political maneuvering took place.

A delay in printing one of the amendments meant House members didn't get a chance to review it until yesterday morning, Bettencourt said.

Many lawmakers wanted more time to analyze it, he said.

Stepanek requested the delay so a hearing could be held.

"I felt it was in order to have everyone get a chance to weigh in on it," he said. "I would rather err on the side of caution."

Rich Killion, spokesman for Millennium Gambling, agreed with the move. His group has proposed a casino at Rockingham Park.

"If there are amendments to the bill," he said, "you want everyone to get a look at them and digest them."