If the proposed legislation passes, players of Texas Hold 'Em, 7-card Stud and Omaha Hi-Lo won't have to go to charitable events just to enjoy themselves, as casinos and other venues are expected to open across the northeastern state. New Hampshire is competing with neighboring Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where gambling expansion plans are already underway.
Currently, gambling goes on mostly behind the scenes in the granite state. "It's certainly under the radar," said Rep. Michael Marsh, a Democrat who is on a subcommittee studying the possibility of legalizing gambling.
Non-profit corporations that host each event are required by law to receive at least 35 percent of the profits. But, private game operators provide dealers and run the poker games. So, as experts note, there already is an infrastructure in place throughout the state for legal gambling, run by for-profit organizations.
Charitable gaming has grown from small-time poker nights - which served as "social events and fund-raisers" - into evenings where the focus is on the games, not the charities. "It's all about gambling," he said.
Putting a dollar figure on New Hampshire's charitable gaming industry is not easy, however.
|
Where the fun begins in every game! 
|
$50 Million in Billings
According to Pari-Mutuel Commission Director Paul Kelley, players spend at least $50 million a year in order to play games in New Hampshire. Much of that is redistributed to players in the form of prize money: At Rockingham Park, for example, anywhere from 75 percent to 90 percent of the amount that players pay is doled out as prize money.Staff at the commission are still discerning how much the games raise for the non-profits, Kelley said. Kelley estimates, that the amount generated for charities in the past year is approximately $4 million.
At one local racetrack which hosts charitable gaming, Rockingham Park, charities can occasionally make $10,000 in a single evening, said Lynne Snierson, the track's communications director. During the last year, since the track began hosting poker games, the games have raised roughly $1 million total for approximately 30 non-profits. Each non-profit can host 10 game nights per year. The waiting list of charities hoping to host poker at the track has grown to more than 25.
For many non-profits, the games have been a boon. "It's an enormous help to us," said Richard O'Shaughnessy, executive director of Greater Salem Caregivers, which provides transportation to the elderly and individuals with disabilities. His group hosts 10 poker nights a year at Rockingham Park. "This has helped us build up a good solid foundation as far as our finances are concerned."
With poker's popularity on the rise, approximately a dozen "primary" game operators are now doing business in New Hampshire, each of which pays $500 to the state for an annual license, Kelley said. Non-profits host the games.
© Copyright 2007 Online Casino Crawler This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed..
0 Comments
0 Trackbacks
