Casino Free New Hampshire: We Made a Statement: 275-82

Congratulations New Hampshire! 
Casino Vultures DEFEATED! 

NH House votes 275-82 to defeat SB242 Casino Bill View this email in your browser

Good News, Casino Free NH Friends: James A Garfield once said, "Justice and goodwill will outlast passion."     With the help of you and your organizations, we've again outlasted the slots casino industry. The NH House made a resounding statement this afternoon, supporting the Ways & Means Committee ITL by a resounding  275 to 82 vote with an indefinite postponement.    The time for slots casinos has passed and the revenue prospects are diminishing by the day. Thanks for all of you for writing your Op-Eds and LTEs, for taking time out of your real lives for making phone calls,  and for showing up when we asked.   Once again, we have prevailed, and New Hampshire's citizens will be the better for it. Thanks from all of us at Casino Free NH and the NH Coalition Against Expanded Gambling

Our mailing address is: Casino Free New Hampshire 2 Eagle Square, Concord, NH, United States Concord, NH 03301

Casino Free New Hampshire: SB 242 Vote Tomorrow; Need Help with Flyers 8:30 - 10:15 AM

SB 242 casino vote is tomorrow, Thursday!   See how you can help! View this email in your browser

The END is near!                 Tomorrow, May 4, is the full House vote on the SB 242 casino bill.   We're almost done, but I need your help one more time. If you're able, I need six volunteers to help hand out flyers to legislators as they come into the chambers.   This flyer makes our final argument, and its important that we get it into the hands of everyone we can from 8:30 to 10:15 a.m.    I will be located on the 2nd floor of the State House near the elevator,  with CasiNO stickers and flyers.   Please confirm to me by email, BrianBeihl@CasinoFreeNH.org if you can help us close the deal. If you wish to stay for the vote, you are absolutely welcome.   The bad news is that SB 242 is the last bill of the day, and we can't give you an exact time, particularly because there are two other significant bills Thursday. THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all of your LTEs, calls, letters and help.   That's what makes us a great coalition of NH citizens who want to keep our state casino free! Brian Beihl, Field Organizer Casino Free NH See us on the web See us on Facebook

Our mailing address is: Casino Free New Hampshire 2 Eagle Square, Concord, NH, United States Concord, NH 03301

Historic 19 to 1 win in Ways and Means today - but it's not over yet!

In a historic vote, Ways & Means voted lTL 19-1 Thursday on the SB 242 casino bill. You helped us win today in historic fashion But it's not over yet. Thursday afternoon, citing doubts about casino revenue and viability in a crowded New England gambling market, the NH House Ways & Means Committee voted 19-1 to not recommend SB 242's passage. This strong message from Ways & Means to fellow legislators is the largest margin anyone can remember for an expanding gambling bill, and members of the committee used phrases like, "The casino ship has sailed,"  and questioned the revenue figures of the bill in the face of declines throughout New England. Thanks to your hard work, we won this battle.  But the war is not over. May 4th, SB 242 goes before the full House, where it will be debated on the House floor.  To defeat the bill means we must begin writing letters and emails to our representatives, writing letters to editors, and making phone calls.    Celebrate our victory tonight, but keep your pen warmed up and your keyboard ready.  Let's put casinos away for good this time! Thanks to all for your hard work! Brian Beihl Casino Free NH See us on the web See us on Facebook Our mailing address is: Casino Free New Hampshire 2 Eagle Square, Concord, NH, United States Concord, NH 03301

Casino Free New Hampshire · 2 Eagle Square, Concord, NH, United States · Concord, NH 03301 · USA

Anti-Casino Forces Rally at State House Many thanks to those who attended yesterday’s press conference and bill hearing. It was an impressive show of force. Here’s the news coverage from yesterday: WMUR (you’ll have to bear with the 15-second ad that precedes this): Supporters, opponents of expanded gaming ready for vote Concord Monitor: Senator lays another casino bill on the table NH Union Leader: Anti-gambling group returns to fight latest casino bill  We are expecting a House vote on the bill on May 4. Please consider making a call to your state representative (there are a lot of new faces since the last time the House voted on this) and sending a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. You can find contact information for both on the home page of the Casino Free NH website. Our mailing address is: Casino Free New Hampshire 2 Eagle Square, Concord, NH, United States Concord, NH 03301

Casino Free New Hampshire · 2 Eagle Square, Concord, NH, United States · Concord, NH 03301 · USA

Reminder: Casino Hearing & Press Conference Tuesday 9 AM

NOSLOTS

Reminder:  Casino Hearing & Press Conference Tuesday 9 AM

Casino Free NH Friends:

Just a quick reminder that the SB 242 casino hearing in Ways & Means is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 18.  We hold our press conference at 9 AM, and if you can stand as a backdrop to our speakers, we'd be grateful.  Meet in the lobby of the Legislative Office Building at 9:00 AM, and the conference kicks off at 9:15.  

After the press conference, the Ways & Means hearing starts at 10 AM, LOB Rooms 202-204.  There are four representatives on the fence, so your testimony and/or presence could make the difference. 

Please sign the sheet in opposition to the bill when you go in  You don't need to speak, but you should check in.  If you can't stay for the hearing, please sign the opposition sheet before you leave.

Thanks for being there for New Hampshire!  

Brian Beihl

Casino Free NH

603-620-8300

Legislative Office Building

http://casinofreenh.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=39cb6a6122f860e3657da7b22&id=dd048738bd&e=0824a37602

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We appreciate your interest in halting the expansion of gambling in New Hampshire.

Our mailing address is:

Casino Free New Hampshire

2 Eagle Square, Concord, NH, United States

Concord, NH 03301

USA

Costello optimistic about tackling gambling

Updated: 8:48 pm, Saturday, 16 July 2016

VIDEO ON LINK

- See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/federal/2016/07/16/costello-optimistic-about-tackling-gambling.html#sthash.xMxgfgNP.dpuf

Gambling reformer Tim Costello says he is more optimistic about tackling problem gambling in the upcoming parliament.

With the support of Independents Nick Xenophon and Andrew Wilkie, the trio aim to revive pokies reforms that dogged the Gillard government in the hung parliament.

He says the community is angry about the lack of progress made and he's hopeful Mr Xenophon, longtime supporter of action on gambling, will help usher in reform.

'The community is outraged, the feeling for reform is much stronger now,' he says.

'The anger is at fever pitch. Almost 95 per cent would cheer if the prime minister said there would be no more gambling when kids are watching.'

He says both the prime minister and the opposition know the damage gambling was doing.

'You've got public opinion and two leaders who are more centrist.'

Australia has the greatest number of problem gamblers with 20 per cent of all the poker machines in the world.

Mr Costello says he doesn't plan to ban the machines, just slow them down.

'When the public want gambling reform, I think both leaders get that.'

'You can load up 10,000 in one go, they have become so destructive. So many people who play them get hopelessly addicted.'

- See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/federal/2016/07/16/costello-optimistic-about-tackling-gambling.html#sthash.xMxgfgNP.dpuf

Casinos bring a host of social ills

Casinos bring a host of social ills

Times Colonist
June 19, 2016

Re: “Victoria bets on casino, submits possible sites,” June 17.

I am against having any new casinos in the capital region. I do not want my tax dollars supporting an enterprise that has been seriously questioned with regard to the social costs incurred. Nor do I want to benefit from these government tax windfalls.

Casinos cause more social ills in the long run than can ever be accrued through taxation. Addiction issues and money-laundering, and a myriad of social consequences from those two alone, are enough for us to step back and question such a move.

And do Victoria or Saanich have to duplicate enterprises that seem to exist everywhere?

Mayors and councillors should ask their constituents if they are in support of casinos in the rush to acquire more and more tax dollars. They should ask their constituents for ideas for generating tax dollars as we attempt to keep our physical and social environment heading in a green and socially conscious direction.

They might be surprised by the creative responses they receive.

Casinos are not the answer.

Janice Ball

Saanich

- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/letters/casinos-bring-a-host-of-social-ills-1.2281961#sthash.9vMV5fAC.dpuf

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe blasts Brockton casino backer during public meeting

“Neil Bluhm and team, they are going to lie to you, and say we are not funded,” said Cedric Cromwell, tribal chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. “You have the No. 1 gaming company in the world that dwarfs Neil Bluhm. Well-established, the Genting Group is the biggest, the most powerful, the strongest. We are funded. We are moving forward.”

By Marc Larocque
Enterprise Staff Writer 

Posted Mar. 15, 2016

BROCKTON – The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe said that the Genting Group is putting putting forth millions of dollars to build its casino project in Taunton, and that the developer behind a proposed gaming destination in Brockton is a liar to say otherwise.

Cedric Cromwell, tribal chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, blasted Chicago developer Neil Bluhm, the developer behind a proposed casino in Brockton, during a public meeting with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday. Cromwell said Bluhm is “immoral” for funding a lawsuit aimed at reversing the U.S. Department of Interior decision made last year to grant the tribe land in trust for its $500 million Taunton casino project, in an effort to secure his own commercial casino license in Brockton.

“Neil Bluhm and team, they are going to lie to you, and say we are not funded,” Cromwell said. “You have the No. 1 gaming company in the world that dwarfs Neil Bluhm. Well-established, the Genting Group is the biggest, the most powerful, the strongest. We are funded. We are moving forward.”

Cromwell continued on with a diatribe against Bluhm, the chairman and founder of Rush Street Gaming, which has a local affiliate called Mass Gaming and Entertainment that is pursuing a $677 million casino project at the Brockton Fairgrounds. The gaming commission said previously that it plans to make a decision on the Brockton casino application by the end of April, while considering the legal standing of the tribe’s land in trust in Taunton.

“The lies that others have been communicating, like Neil Bluhm – it’s egregious,” Cromwell said. “To even launch and fund a lawsuit against the tribe – when he’s going for a commercial license – how immoral! How sad that that this has become, that someone like this would do such an egregious act.”

Cromwell also lashed out at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for even meeting with the Brockton casino group, calling it a breach of the Massachusetts gaming law, which gives special precedence for a tribal casino in Southeastern Massachusetts. Cromwell said that the gaming commission would “destroy” the gaming landscape in Massachusetts if approves the Brockton casino license, and that the tribe would give zero gaming revenues to the state in that case, rather than the 17 percent promised by the compact it forged with the state.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/article/20160315/NEWS/160317105

NY: Residents and Lawmakers Protest Against Medford Casino & “political patronage machine”

Residents and Lawmakers Protest Against Medford Casino

September 27, 2015

A group of protesters from Suffolk County, New York rallied on Saturday against the establishment of a small casino in Medford. Residents of the area, lawmakers, and other involved individuals gathered together to voice their disapproval of the project.

The Suffolk Off-Track Betting Corporation had previously revealed plans to build a mini-casino in Medford. It purchased a 31-acre parcel that had formerly been a movie theater for the amount of $10 million. The projected gambling property would spread over 100,000 square feet and would feature video lottery terminals and casino slots. Suffolk OTB has repeatedly called for regional lawmakers to approve the construction of the facility so that it can open doors sometime next year. Environmental checks have already been carried out.

The company and its plan has been meeting vocal opposition since it had first been introduced. Residents and legislators expressed fears that a property of this kind would have extremely negative impact on the local community. According to them, its launch would result in increased crime and traffic as well as in more people showing symptoms of gambling addiction.

As mentioned above, the Saturday rally was attended by several legislators as well. Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor) pointed out that the negative effects of casino gambling in Medford would far exceed the benefits people believe they would receive.

Furthermore, Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R-St. James), who proposed earlier this year a bill that would have rescinded the authorization of the proposed gambling venues in Medford and Nassau, announced yesterday that he would re-submit his bill during the upcoming legislative session. The legislator expressed hopes that this time it would get the necessary approval.

In March, the majority of Suffolk County officials voted against Assemblyman Fitzpatrick’s bill. They explained their decision to nix the proposed legislation with the fact that a gambling venue in Medford would generate revenue for the region and jobs for residents.

Here it is important to note that Suffolk OTB is looking to emerge from bankruptcy. Medford residents said during the Saturday protest that they would not like to host a gambling venue in order to help a struggling off-track betting company, considered by many a “political patronage machine.”

http://www.casinonewsdaily.com/2015/09/27/residents-and-lawmakers-protest-against-medford-casino/