Battle Lines Drawn at Casino Hearing

A special 45-member Joint Casino Committee made its debut Tuesday, as a public hearing at Representatives Hall saw nearly 70 proponents and opponents argue the merits of Senate Bill 152, which would bring a highly regulated casino to New Hampshire.

Supporters squeezed into the seats wearing blue and yellow T-shirts while opponents wore stickers that read "casino," emphasizing the "no."

Since her campaign, Gov. Maggie Hassan has supported one license for a high-end facility to be awarded through a competitive bid process.

She followed up a long moment of silence for the victims of Monday's Boston Marathon bombing with testimony on what she views as the strengths of SB 152.

"While I appreciate the hard work done by the House Finance Committee to develop their budget plan during these challenging economic times, I believe that SB 152 affords us the the opportunity to build upon that work by injecting new, non-taxpayer based revenue in to the equation to fund items left unaddressed that remain important to Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike," said Hassan.

House Speaker Terie Norelli (D-Portsmouth) appointed the joint committee last week, comprised of members from both the House Finance Committee and House Ways & Means Committee. SB 152 was passed in the state Senate by a 16-8 vote on March 14.

Following Hassan were Sens. Lou D'Allesandro (D-Manchester) and Chuck Morse (R-Salem), who co-sponsored SB 152.

"New Hampshire will lose revenue if we do not adopt this bill," said D'Allesandro. "That's not a debatable issue. That's a fact. That is axiomatic, proved by both sides, attested to by both sides."

D'Allesandro said that the state will lose as much as $70 million once gaming advances in Massachusetts, with citizens crossing the border to help fund the Massachusetts budget.

Morse addressed the bad vibe he has been getting around Concord that the bill is tailored to Salem.

"That is simply not true," he said, detailing the competitive bid process for the single casino.

But Rep. Edmond Gionet (R-Lincoln) argued that the N.H. House position has always been that one casino is a monopoly. Gionet proposed an amendment that calls for two destination casinos in SB 152.

"This is a formula that will work for New Hampshire," said Gionet, adding that his effort is to ensure that the thousand of residents of the White Mountains who are looking for work are not left out.

Taking the proposal one step further, Rep. Dan McGuire (R-Epsom) stood up after Gionet and announced an amendment to SB 152 that there be no limit to the number of casinos. He said that he wanted to make the legislation more like liquor licensing.

Rep. JR Hoell (R-Dunbarton) promised a similar amendment, banning a single casino.

Millennium Gaming, the group that owns the option to purchase Rockingham Park if legislation passes and the site is awarded a bid, had its motives called into question by a few people during the six-hour hearing.

Following testimony from Rockingham Park President and General Manager Ed Callahan, Rep. Neal Kurk (R-Weare) questioned Callahan on Millennium Gaming's involvement in crafting SB 152 as it is currently written.

Callahan said that he "imagines there were a number of people involved in assisting" the legislation, but didn't go into any specifics in his response.

Millennium Gaming spokesman Jim Demers spoke later in the meeting, saying that he looked forward to working with work session panels.

Demers read a letter from Washington County, Pa., Commissioner Larry Maggi, who said that numbers the Meadows Race Track has been a great success, and has seen no increase in crime.

In 2012 the Meadows disbursed nearly $257 million in taxes, payments to suppliers and charitable contributions, according to the letter.

The Pennsylvania casino is similar to Rockingham Park, and has been used as Millennium Gaming as a past model during a pair of presentations in Salem over the past two years.

Deputy Attorney General Ann Rice opposed expanded gambling on behalf of her office, explaining that she wasn't in attendance to oppose gambling on moral grounds, but rather due to law enforcement concerns.

"Do not be lured by the promise of easy money coming into this state," she said. 

Rep. David Campbell (D-Nashua) testified in favor of SB 152, specifically the charitable benefits of the legislation.

"Massachusetts casinos will not hold New Hampshire charities harmless for their lost revenues," he said. "If we do nothing, New Hampshire charities will suffer."

Massachusetts will soon award three casino licenses to a pool of nearly a dozen bidders.

Two opponents, Sen. Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth) and Rep. Patrick Bick (R-Salem), said that a N.H. casino wouldn't stand up to the $1.2 billion Suffolk Downs project being proposed in East Boston.

But for the town of Salem, Bick testified in the minority. His comments were immediately followed by Salem Rep. Stephen Campbell said that a casino wouldn't just be a revenue stream for a Salem, but for the state.

"Property taxes are very high, and the citizens of Salem think that it would be good for Salem and for the state to have a new revenue stream so that we could build the bridges that need to be built," said Campbell.

Campbell spoke on behalf of all Salem Selectmen. Town Manager Keith Hickey attended, but did not testify.

Other business interests were also fully represented on Tuesday.

Thomas J. Leonard of Greenmeadow Country Club in Hudson called a casino a "very good opportunity" for New Hampshire, but said that the opportunity to bid on the license should be open and fair.

Leonard stressed that the time constraints of the bill may not cater to that open and fair process.

Vicky Pittman of the Colonial Theater in Keene said that performing arts centers like hers will lose top headline performers to casinos.

"Our colleagues in nearby states have provided ample evidence that casinos operate with 100-mile exclusion clauses," said Pittman. "Limiting the talent pool puts additional pressure on theaters in New Hampshire who work on the tiniest of margins.

Nicolette Clarke, executive director of the Capitol Center for the Performing Arts in Concord, said that the gambling industry "has the opportunity to dismantle a significant segment of the state's cultural life.

Manchester legislators are working to limit the size of non-gambling venues on gambling sites to a size of 1,500 seats.

Public safety interests were also well represented.

Chief David Cahill of the Sunapee Police Department spoke against SB 152 as a representative of the N.H. Association of Chiefs of Police.

"The creation of a casino in the state of New Hampshire would open our state to criminal elements that would pray upon our citizens," said Cahill.

But Londonderry Sgt. Patrick Cheetham, who was representing the N.H. Police Association, spoke in favor of the bill.

Cheetham said that his organization has reached out to local and state police departments in areas where a casino building currently exists, and could not verify with any of them that the casino has hurt the area.

But aside from the argument that casinos create social costs, a common theme between many of the opponents who spoke was the word "proliferation."

Lewis Feldstein of the N.H. Charitable Foundation said that it was a certainty that passing SB 152 will send gambling across the state.

Feldstein went as far to assert that New Hampshire will end up with a slot barn within 30 minutes of every community, "more or less."

Joel Bourassa of the N.H. Lodging and Restaurant Association said that Maine started with one casino, but proliferation has led to two with plans for a third.

But N.H. Building and Construction Trades Council President Joe Casey said that the construction industry is hurting, and the issue that needs to be focused on with gambling isn't drugs or alcohol, but rather unemployment.

"(This casino) is the largest commercial construction project that would ever be constructed in the state of New Hampshire," he said.

SB 152 will require a one-time licensing fee of $80 million, which Hassan said can be used for the FY 14-15 budget. A capital investment of $425 million is also required for the bill.

The bill calls for up to 150 table games and no more than 5,000 video lottery/slot machines.

The Joint Committee is scheduled to convene on Wednesday, 9:30 a.m., in Room 210-211 of the Legislative Office Building for presentations and to discuss the subcommittees' work.