According to New Hampshire state senator Maggie Hassan, there are currently two legislative proposals for gambling bills in the House and Senate. Hassan expects sponsors will try to develop one bill to bring forward in the next legislative session.
"I have not taken a stand on any of the recent proposals because I think they're just developing," Hassan was quoted as saying in an article on seacoastonline.com. "In the past I've voted both for or against, depending on details of the bill. I will be looking at the bill to see if it's realistic in the amount of revenue it can produce and also protect local communities if gambling comes their way."
It was recently announced that Las Vegas-based casino owner Millennium Gaming and a coalition named Fix It Now New Hampshire have expressed interest in investing $450 million into Rockingham Park if the facility was given the green light to offer slot machine gaming at the track.
It is claimed that money is currently flowing out of state to other locations which offer the popular gaming. "The amount of revenue is much too significant to ignore. We need to stop the migration of this revenue to other states," Edward Callahan, Rockingham's president and general manager, was quoted as saying.
Chuck Rolecek, chairman of the coalition, said Millennium would need about two years to build a permanent facility at the track. The coalition did not specify the number of machines.
The report goes on to indicate that, depending on how it is taxed, monies made from the expanded gambling could mean $200 million a year for the state.
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
(With files from seacoastonline.com)