\nNorma Love, Associated Press<\/p>\n
\tSALEM, N.H. (AP) \u2013 As New Hampshire debates legalizing a commercial casino, the charities that rely on games of chance to raise millions of dollars every year worry that a big-name gambling hall would siphon off crucial revenue for the services they provide.<\/p>\n
\tThe 35 percent payout to charities after deducting prizes ranges from a few thousand dollars from a poker room operating three days a week to more than $60,000 from 10 days at Rockingham Park racetrack in Salem.<\/p>\n
\tWentworth-Coolidge Commission Co-chairwoman Gene Doherty says other fundraising efforts pale compared to the $37,744 the commission raised last year at Rockingham Park.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cA lot of fundraising dried up over the years. People want to give to children or the elderly,\u201d not to the upkeep of a historic building, Doherty said.<\/p>\n
\tGambling proceeds comprise 80 percent of the commission\u2019s budget, Doherty said.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIf it goes away, we will do some fundraising, but a lot of the support the state gets from us also will go away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\tNew Hampshire has allowed the mini-casino operations since 1977 \u2013 often called Monte Carlo nights \u2013 with few limits other than on the size of the bet and the maximum days a charity can sponsor an event. Unlike commercial casinos, the maximum bet is $4, regulations aren\u2019t as stringent and video slot machines are illegal though some operators provide them as game machines that pay out prizes instead of cash.<\/p>\n
\tA commission is drafting legislation to regulate casinos and casino bills are likely to arise in both houses of the legislature. A vote could come in 2014.<\/p>\n
\tA law change in 2006 allowed private operators to run the games and turned the traditional Monte Carlo nights into seven-day-a-week, full-scale operations that rake in millions of dollars annually. When the law first changed, game operators had to entice charities to sign up for game dates. Now, most have waiting lists, and state officials estimate $75 million is bet annually in the name of 389 charities.<\/p>\n
\tThe panel working on casino regulations also is considering a separate bill to tighten regulations governing charitable games of chance. Paul Kelley, director of the Racing and Charitable Gaming Commission, said if a commercial casino is approved, charities \u2013 especially in the southern part of the state where a casino is most likely \u2013 will feel the pinch.<\/p>\n
\tOne of the smaller participating charities is the Sisters of the Holy Cross in Manchester.<\/p>\n
\tSister Jacqueline Brodeur is in charge of raising money to support 103 older nuns and the nursing home that cares for many of them. The sisters receive $6,000 from gambling at Oceanfront Gaming at Hampton Beach \u2013 a \u201cblip\u201d in the budget, Brodeur says, but one that supplements the sisters\u2019 care and a small program in Manchester to teach English to immigrants.<\/p>\n
\tLike Rockingham, Oceanfront Gaming scatters each charity\u2019s 10 dates throughout the year to give everyone some of the higher volume days.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cYou always pray for a lot of summer dates. That\u2019s when people are at the beach, so you pray for summer,\u201d Brodeur said.<\/p>\n
\tAt Rockingham Park, the 36 charities with game dates there average $55,000 a year in profit from 10 days of gambling, the maximum days the state allows per charity. Rockingham, a potential site for a commercial casino, is the most profitable of the dozen game operators, paying 36 charities almost $2 million in fiscal 2013 \u2013 nearly half the $4.6 million charities received statewide from gambling.<\/p>\n
\tEven though 190 charities are on Rockingham\u2019s waiting list, Brodeur is going to try to get in.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019ve got to look into it in order to survive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\tArthur McLean, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Derry, waited five years to get gambling dates at Rockingham. Last year, the club had four dates and raised about $20,000. This year, he expects to raise $50,000 toward its $1 million annual budget. It\u2019s not its biggest fundraiser, but if gambling revenue is cut off, McLean said programs would be reduced.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe would lose employees. We have to keep our building open,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
No replies were posted for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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