FYI: This just send to NH House Members:

You've heard gambling lobbyists and smiling PR flaks' Kool-Aide about the economic joys of slot casinos here in New Hampshire.

Now listen to the voices of experience.

Florida legalized slot casino gambling in 2004. If casinos are so good for the economy, why do these leading Florida business organizations oppose casino expansion there?

Florida Chamber of Commerce

"Expanding casino gambling in Florida would never make sense in a good economy," Florida Chamber of Commerce president Mark Wilson, told the New York Times. "And the only reason they are even targeting Florida is that they are hoping that desperate people will reach for desperate measures. There is never a good time to push a bad idea."

Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association

"Florida is considered one of the most family-friendly destination locations in the world. Should we gamble our decades of work to build our wholesome reputation on the risky proposition that those big spending foreign gamblers will solve our economic problems? The FRLA believes the answer is an overwhelming no. Any benefit to Florida will never outweigh the heavy cost."

Florida Retail Federation

"Evidence shows new casino resorts will drain existing retail businesses ... and cannibalize existing economic activity ... In Atlantic City, for example, about one-third of existing retail businesses were found to have gone out of business one year after new casinos were introduced. A study conducted in Iowa found that the annual growth of retail sales in mid-sized cities with casinos was significantly lower than growth in cities without casinos. For Florida retailers, the short-term employment gains [via construction] of expanding casino gambling would not be worth the long-term damage we might inflict on Florida's family-friendly brand."

Learn More: Legislative Luncheon, January 4

In early January, you will vote on HB-593, the "great give away" (written almost verbatim by lobbyists for Las Vegas-based Millennium Gaming) that awards two valuable casino monopolies for a lowball price of $50 million each. There were no public hearings on the radically-amended version of the bill on which you will vote (only Ways & Means subcommittee work sessions jammed with rent-seeking gambling lobbyists).

Here's your chance to learn from the other side about HB-593  before you vote.

Join us during session break for a luncheon and desert on us:

Wednesday, January 4, Holiday Inn ballroom 

diagonally across the street from the State House.

While you're munching, you can cogitate on brief comments from and engage in Q&A with: 

• Dave Hess, HB-593 subcommittee chair
• Neal Kurk, Finance Division III chair
• Mary Jane Wallner, deputy Democratic leader
• Chief Robert Wharem; Pittsfield Police Department, president, NH Assn of Chiefs of Police
• Steve Duprey, Concord businessman, past NH GOP chair
• Dick Danais, President, UpReach Therapeutic Riding Center, Manchester
• Tom Boucher, CEO, Great NH Restaurants, Inc., past chair, NH Lodging & Restaurant Assn  

Key Negatives of HB-593  Details here

• Grants Unconstitutional Monopoly
• The Great Give Away: HB-593 Written by Gambling Lobbyists; Very One Sided
• Market Saturation by MA Casinos - Leaves NH w Convenience Casinos Only - Revenue Cannibalization and Loss of Jobs at Existing NH Businesses
• Charity Gaming Revenue Wipeout
• Dangerously Weak Regulation
• Crime, Addiction, and Moral Concerns