New Hampshire Senate kills casino bill

Senate Bill 551 was sponsored by Sen. Lou D'Allesandro to help boost economic growth in a state that he said is losing many of its skilled workers to neighboring Massachusetts.

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Before voting to kill the bill, the Senate also defeated an amendment, 12-11, that would have no longer required the casino be established at The Rock.

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"Everyone in the state of New Hampshire will share in the profits of this legislation," D'Allesandro told fellow senators. "We are a destination location."

Establishing a casino in New Hampshire, preferably at Rockingham Park, would create numerous jobs and provide the state with $100 million in annual revenue, he said. The bill proposed 3,500 lottery video machines and 160 table games.

Before voting to kill the bill, the Senate also defeated an amendment, 12-11, that would have no longer required the casino be established at The Rock.

The amendment, proposed to increase the bill's chances of passage, called for the establishment of a competitive licensing process for video lottery and table games.

The Senate vote came on the heels of Rockingham Park President and General Manager Edward Callahan telling The Eagle-Tribune earlier that the 109-year-old former racetrack has been put up for sale.

Closing the former horse track would mean the loss of 200 jobs and a historic landmark, he said. "I would expect in the next 18 months to two years, the entire property would be redeveloped," Callahan said. D'Allesandro said it would shameful to allow Rockingham Park to close.

"We have had gambling at that site for over 100 years," he said. "I can remember when 25,000 people a day would come to Rockingham Park."

Last year, 50 acres of the 170-acre site were sold to Tuscan Kitchen owner Joseph Faro, who is seeking town Planning Board approval for a 360,000-square-foot hotel, restaurant, retail and residential complex.