Governor-elect Maggie Hassan told the Sunday Union Leader that she will not break her one-casino casino pledge. She will oppose any number of casinos more than one, with that one casino being "highly regulated" and "high-end."
Keeping promises is good. Fortunately, these promises also create three insoluble problems for casino backers.
Problem one.
Everyone knows that Millennium Gaming's platoon of Concord lobbyists has greased the selection process for Rockingham Park in Salem. This means no casino in Hudson, Seabrook, Cheshire County, Loudon, or the North Country. Regional jealousies doom a one casino bill, certainly in the House.
Problem two.
There will never be any "high-end" destination-resort casino in New Hampshire. The four big and flashy casinos slated for Massachusetts will saturate the New England gambling market, limiting New Hampshire to local-market slots barns which do not attract promised out-of-state gambling dollars, and simply suck money away from thousands of existing New Hampshire businesses.
Rule of thumb: for every casino tax dollar raised, two will be cannibalized from local businesses. Casinos here are flat out anti-local business.
Want more evidence that a New Hampshire-based destination-resort casino is a fairy tale? New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon has been pitching itself as a casino-hotel venue for two years and has already announced its build budget, $30 million, about the cost of three CVS drugstores. Even Millenniuim has acknowledged the saturated regional gambling market, having directed its lobbyists to remove any minimum investment requirement from the 2012 casino bill, soundly rejected by the House for that and several other reasons.
And problem three.
A highly-regulated casino means no casino operating or license money flowing into the state budget for two to four or more years. These years are the time required to adopt regulations, select among competing casino bidders, complete casino management and investor background checks, secure local permits, and conclude litigation. Legislators wanting casino taxes to fix the coming budget will be forced to look elsewhere.
Best Regards,
Jim Rubens
Chair, GSCAEG
