With Concord Casino shuttered and in limbo, charities left in the lurch

Every year, the Cmar Scholarship Fund awards two Army ROTC cadets $2,500 each toward their tuition at the University of New Hampshire. The Concord Lions Club supports a camp for kids with disabilities and buys Christmas presents for children in need. The Bow Men's Club gives $10,000 annually to Bow seniors headed off to college. Each charity raised some of that money through partnerships with Concord Casino until December, when the state ordered the casino closed — and sold — over pandemic fraud allegations against its owner, Andy Sanborn. The financial loss has forced some charities to scale back their donations and others to look for money elsewhere. Casinos can operate only if they share proceeds with charities. As early as Thursday, the approximately 30 charities that benefited from Concord Casino could get a better sense of whether the casino can reopen under a new owner and resume supporting their charitable missions. A reopening, far from certain, would require one of two things: Either Sanborn sells his casino by the attorney general's office's Sept. 30 deadline, something he's struggled to do. Or the state grants Sanborn's request for a deadline extension, something it vehemently opposes. So far, the financial loss to the charities that partnered with Concord Casino has not factored into the attorney general's office's arguments against an extension. In a filing Friday, Senior Assistant Attorney General Jessica King refuted Sanborn's argument that the state must accommodate a sale for the public good. "… [T]he sale of the business is beneficial to (Sanborn) and (Sanborn) alone," King wrote. "The public does not benefit." She added that Sanborn's "business is not, in and of itself, valuable to the charities of New Hampshire." Understanding both sides of that argument can be a challenge for anyone who hasn't followed the state's evolving gaming rules. Concord Casino's value is in its access to the state's last available historic horse racing license for the next seven years, a moratorium lawmakers passed this year. While table games like poker and blackjack earn millions for casino owners, the state and charities annually, HHR is the real moneymaker for all three. In July alone, HHR revenues totaled $14.8 million, with $1.3 million going to charities, $2.4 million to the state, and $11.1 million to casino owners. In that same month, table games generated $6.17 million. Charities collected $2.1 million of that, the state $525,600, and casino owners $3.4 million. King noted in her filing that Concord Casino never had the slot-like HHR machines, so that potential loss could not be considered. (Though Sanborn has been pursuing a major expansion in Concord to include HHR.) Anyone, King argued, can apply for a license to run a casino with only table games, as Concord Casino does now. They don't need to buy Concord Casino to do it. The other side of that argument is that failing to sell Concord Casino will mean its current license — and its access to a HHR license — will be suspended for two years. That would eliminate the table game revenue the casino could continue providing charities — last year it was about $170,000 — and the potential for even more HHR revenue. The state administrative law judge overseeing the state's case against Sanborn's gaming license is expected to rule on the extension request Thursday. Several charity officials told the Bulletin they are anxiously awaiting a ruling. Carl Nolin, of Concord, is among them. Nolin is connected with three organizations that have sponsored games at Concord Casino: American Legion Baseball, Concord Lions Club, and The ARC, which supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. "The Concord Casino did provide some Concord nonprofits money to stay moving," Nolin said. "Since (it closed), we've had to reach out to community businesses. We've scratched and scraped and found ways to maintain everything but now we're at the point where that cannot go on much longer." The groups' support for youth baseball, social events for people with disabilities, and other donations is at risk, he said. Geoff Cmar, of Bow, began awarding scholarships to UNH ROTC cadets in honor of his son Stephen, who was a cadet when he died in an automobile accident in 2010. Last year, the Cmar Scholarship Fund received nearly $4,800 from Concord Casino; it would have been closer to $10,600 but Sanborn kept nearly $5,750 for rent, according to documents provided by the New Hampshire Lottery. (Casino owners can no longer collect rent under a bill passed this year.) The closure of the casino has left the Cmar Scholarship Fund relying on its second annual fundraiser and scaling back its plans to expand its community support to veterans and their families, Cmar said. The group recently helped a woman who lost her husband, a veteran, with oil and gas bills. "(The loss of casino revenue) was significant enough that right now we can continue to give out those two awards (to cadets), but we've had to curtail our plans to expand," he said. Dik Dagavarian, treasurer for the Bow Men's Club, said Concord Casino contributed about 17 percent of the group's annual fundraising. The money helped the group increase its annual scholarships for Bow seniors from $500 for a single student to $10,000 for five students. The club also supports a number of other local groups. "We do have another fairly good-sized fundraiser that we've continued to run which was the driving force, but the charitable gaming did help out," Dagavarian said. "As of now, we've adjusted our budget knowing that we're not going to receive the (casino) revenue, but we continue to press forward." Charlie McIntyre, executive director of the N.H. Lottery, said in a statement that he understood charities' financial predicament. "The Lottery is concerned about the charities that have worked with Concord Casino in the past, and (other casinos) throughout the state have worked with a number of those charities to assist their needs by raising critical funds on their behalf," he said. "As with any retail business, the closure of one does not mean that revenue is lost — it ultimately goes to another location close by. We understand and sympathize that the closing of Concord Casino can impact a number of local groups." Dick Anagnost, who owns several casinos in the state, said he had reached out to Sanborn for his list of charities with hopes of adding some to his roster. "(Sanborn) has refused to cooperate," he said. Sanborn disputed that through his lawyers. "Mr. Sanborn has never refused to cooperate with anyone looking to help New Hampshire charities," attorney Zachary Hafer said in an email. "Mr. Anagnost — who has a vested interest in minimizing competition to his gaming enterprise by opposing new entrants — is mistaken." Norman Roberge, an officer with the Concord Lions Club, said his organization was able to join the list of charities that partner with Gate City Casino in Nashua. It's far bigger than Concord Casino and offers HHR, which will mean significantly more revenue. "The more we get, the more we can increase support," Roberge said. Not every charity that partnered with Concord Casino will find a new casino. Ed Friedrich, president of the Loudon Lions Club, said he reached out to casinos from Belmont, to Salem, to Dover seeking an opening. He didn't hear back from any of them and isn't sure how the group will replace the nearly $7,000 it received from Concord Casino last year. The club donated that money to the local food pantry, Friendly Kitchen, Loudon Elementary School, and others. The 24-member group is looking for other opportunities and hopes to net $1,000 next month through a fundraiser with Texas Roadhouse. "Unfortunately without any casino money we're struggling," Friedrich said. "If we can get back into a casino, the revenue generated from that would be really great." Casinos with table games and HHR must partner with two charities a night, and they can offer each nonprofit up to 10 days. That means that most of the 12 casinos in the state can accommodate 72 charities a year. That doesn't begin to leave enough spots for the state's estimated 8,000 to 9,000 charities, Roberge said. He's on a commission studying gaming in New Hampshire. Among its priorities is finding a way to allow more charities to benefit from charitable gaming. The five casino owners with pending applications could accommodate nearly 360 charities, hardly enough to meet demand. The Brook in Seabrook has at least 100 charities on its wait list, said Andre Carrier, chief executive officer. He said the charities they worked with in 2023 provided nearly 10,830 meals through Rockingham Nutrition & Meals on Wheels; seven wishes for children with critical illnesses; 89 trainings on suicide prevention for 130 schools; and 4,000 weekend, holiday, and school break meals for children and their families through End 68 Hours of Hunger. "We aim to support as many charities as possible, as long as they provide essential services within the community," Carrier said in an email. "We also ensure that we introduce new charities each year, rotating them regularly so that everyone has an opportunity to benefit from our support." Eric Barbaro, chief operating officer for Granite State Gaming, said their Beach Club Casino in Hampton has 75 charities on its waiting list. They plan to open a second casino in Rochester early next year and are writing a policy for selecting casinos, with a goal of serving local groups. The rewards of charitable gaming go both ways, Barbaro said. The Beach Club Casino hears from charities about how they spent their gaming revenue. He said the Stratham Historic Society emailed to say it recently refurbished its 1912 building. "We constantly see great feedback from our charity partners (who say) without your support we could never have continued," Barbaro said. "It's a great feeling and it's a huge opportunity."