News
The following Article appeared in the Union Leader: Friday, March 6, 2009
NASHUA - After two bills that would legalize gambling died in the state House of Representatives this week, a group hoping to build a resort casino in Hudson asked to be included in a Senate bill that would expand gambling in the state.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Lou D'Aliesandro, D-Manchester, includes expanded gambling at four racetracks around the state and two casinos in the North Country, but in its current form would not allow the owners of Greenmeadow Golf Club to build its hoped-for destination resort.
D'Aliesandro was one of four speakers at a Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce breakfast yesterday where a panel discussed whether the state should approve expanded gambling.
At the breakfast, the legal counsel for Greenmeadow, Jay Leonard, said they have asked D'Aliesandro to amend his bill to allow the group to move forward with the project.
"Sometimes the discussion leaves Hudson and Nashua out," said Leonard. "We ask that we not be left out."
The planned resort, which would also include a convention center, would bring 2,000 construction jobs to the area, and another 5,000 permanent jobs once the resort opened, said Leonard.
D'Aliesandro said he would speak to local Sen. Peggy Gilmour about whether to add the Hudson project to the bill.
But two of the other speakers at yesterday's event said they hope the state will not expand gambling in any form.
Republican Rep. Oavid Hess of Hooksett was joined by Henniker Police Chief Tim Russell in opposing expanded gambling.
Gambling is not going to solve the state's financial problems, said Hess.
"We've gotten out of tough situations before without gambling, without a sales tax and without an income tax," he said. "That's the way we do it in New Hampshire. That's the way we maintain our quality of life."
Hess pointed to a number of states that have legalized gambling that have not seen their economic situations markedly improve. He also spoke of the litany of social ills that often accompany expanded gambling, including an increase in the number of suicides, bankruptcies and general criminal activity.
Chief Russell said he spoke for the New Hampshire Association of the Chiefs of Police, who are strongly opposed to expanded gambling.
"It is not by accident that year after year New Hampshire has one of the lowest serious crime rates in the nation," he said. "It is our public policy that prevents and deters crime."
Both Russell and Hess pointed out that every past and current state attorney general has come out in opposition to further legalizing gambling.
But Chuck Rolecek, owner of CR Sparks and chairman of Fix It Now NH, a group that favors expanding gambling, said he sees it as an economic development issue.
He said that before the airport and Verizon Center projects moved forward there were similar concerns, but both have worked out well for the state.
The business leaders who attended the breakfast were asked to fill out a response card to indicate whether they favor expanded gambling in the state and a majority said they did, said Chamber CEO Chris Williams.
The odds were two-to-one for those in favor of gambling versus those opposed, he said. The chamber has not taken a formal position on the issue and is still deciding whether to weigh in, said Williams.
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