Salem Observer : Salem, Rockingham Park

Salem deputy chief assaulted

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:50:00 GMT

A disorderly patron allegedly struck a deputy police chief inside the Poker Room at the Rockingham Park racetrack after management asked him to leave at about 10:15 p.m. on Sept. 23.

According to police, 30- year-old Christopher McNeil of Danvers, Mass., refused to comply with racetrack management, and when Deputy Police Chief William Ganley, on detail in the Poker Room that night, stepped in, McNeil began punching him in the face.

Police said Ganley used his Taser to subdue McNeil and take him into custody. Left uninjured from the assault, authorities said Ganley was able to finish out the rest of his detail without medical attention.

According to Capt. Shawn Patten, the racetrack regularly pays for a police detail, which keeps problems at a minimum. While officers report the occasional trouble at the racetrack, Patten said incidents like McNeil’s assault on Ganley were the exception, not the rule.

McNeil has been charged with simple assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and criminal threatening. He was released on $500 cash bail pending arraignment at Salem District Court.

Company files bankruptcy to keep Rockingham Park from taking over

Salem Editor — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:44:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Days before a ban from the state’s largest gambling venue was set to go into effect, the company that runs the popular Poker Room at the Rockingham Park racetrack filed for bankruptcy.

Attorney Joshua Menard said he filed Granite State Poker into bankruptcy at about 5:26 p.m. on Friday, July 24, in a plan to keep the company operating games of chance at the racetrack, despite attempts from Rockingham Park to ban the company from the premises after midnight on Sunday, July 26. Owner Dan Brown had filed for an injunction in the Rockingham County Superior Court against being shut out of the racetrack after receiving a June 22 letter from attorneys representing the park’s general manager, Edward Callahan, notifying Brown of the ban.

On Friday, July 24, a hearing was scheduled for August, but that would have been too late to save the company from being forced out of the racetrack, according to Menard.

“We did this to ensure that the 130 employees continue to have their jobs next week and obviously to ensure that the current operation stays operating,” he said.

According to Menard, bankruptcy will “stay the issue,” preventing any attempts to remove Granite State Poker – which has run the Poker Room since 2006 – from the racetrack.

The move to ban Granite State Poker has sparked a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed in Rockingham County Superior Court which accuses Rockingham Park of trying to steal customers and trained employees away from the gaming company. Brown said Callahan formed a limited-liability corporation earlier this year in an attempt to take over the gaming operation at the racetrack.

According to Brown, the pair had a verbal agreement in place before the Poker Room opened stipulating that Granite State Poker would manage the gaming operations, equipment and supplies while Rockingham Park would provide security, facility licenses and locate charitable organizations to sponsor the games of chance. Brown has said he also agreed to a $2,000 nightly “rent” before the gaming operation got underway and later complied with an additional demand that he turn over half of all of Granite State Poker’s monthly profits.

In the June 22 letter, Callahan’s attorneys accuse Brown of failing to turn over both the nightly “rent” or 50 percent of Granite State Poker’s monthly profits to the park, among other charges.

Callahan could not be reached for comment yesterday. Brown is optimistic that the move could help reconcile his relationship with Callahan and Rockingham Park.

“It’s a situation that in the past has helped partners resolve any issues,” he said. “If we can resolve this we’d like to do it.”

Rockingham Park collects nearly 5,000 pounds of pet food

Salem Editor — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:59:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Overwhelming,” was how Lynne Snierson, standing beside a mountain of dog chow, bird seed and cat food, described the response to the Fourth of July weekend pet food drive at Rockingham Park.

“The outpouring of love and compassion is spectacular. People were amazing and we were blown away. Car after car kept driving up. It was staggering,” said Snierson, director of communications and marketing at the racetrack. “In this very tough economy it is more difficult for families to feed their companion animals. We’re hoping people will be able to keep their best friends in their homes.”

Organizers raised about 3,000 pounds of pet food during last year’s pet food drive. This year, Snierson estimates the racetrack has received around 5,000 pounds of pet food, with donations trickling in even before the weekendlong animal welfare event began last Friday.

Snierson, who led the effort to organize the racetrack’s first pet food drive, said there had been concerns that the recession would take a bite out of potential donations leading up to the Fourth of July event.

Despite the gloomy economic forecast, there were no signs that the downturn had put a damper on the willingness of people to give, she said.

“With so many people out of work and so many people laid off and had hours and benefits cut back, to think that they’ll still rally … it’s amazing,” Snierson said. “It’s amazing to the extent that people opened their hearts and wallets to help innocent and defenseless animals and help those who couldn’t help themselves.”

All of the food donated during the three-day event benefits the New Hampshire Food Bank. According to Anne Dalton, director of development, pet supplies are distributed about as quickly as they come into the food bank.

“If you think about it, a lot of people can’t buy their pets food with their food stamps. When we get (pet food) it’s easier for them because they don’t have to use money to buy pet food,” she said. “Whenever we get (pet food) in it goes out.”

Snierson attributed the success of the event to the efforts made by members of the community and racetrack staff to give as much as they could. Local stores, like Dodge Grain, PetSmart, Sea World Pet Center, Target, Shaw’s Supermarkets and Woof It Down, pitched in and donated as well, she said.

The Salem Animal Rescue League (SARL) also benefitted from the pet food drive, finding a home for Sal, an energetic 2-year-old Black Labrador Retriever and Great Dane.

“He spent two months in the shelter. He’s very energetic, needs a lot of training, but fortunately he was very well-behaved at the drive and the next day there were people waiting for us to open to meet him in person and they finalized the adoption,” said Valorie Hayes, SARL’s spokesman. “It was wonderful to get out and meet the people and have them come to shelter to do follow up visits, but the best thing that happened was that this dog got adopted.”

A self-described animal lover, Snierson said the drive has become an annual event for the racetrack. She hopes to see more people come out and donate when the Fourth of July rolls around again next year.

“I’d like to do it again and I’d like to get more people involved,” she said. “I just can’t get over how generous, kind and compassionate people are.”

Salem officials hope this is the year for expanded gambling

Salem Editor — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:18:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

As the Senate prepares to tackle the state budget, officials in Salem have their fingers crossed that this will the year that expanded gambling comes to the Rockingham Park Racetrack.

“It’s been going on for years. I remember them talking about this in the ’90s. We need it,” said Patrick Hargreaves, a selectman and a lifelong resident of Salem. “I remember the Rock in its heyday. It was packed. The parking lot was filled from one end to the other. It was fantastic.”

Hargreaves, along with other town officials believes this might be the best, and last chance, to bring video slot machines to Rockingham Park along with the expected added tax revenue and new jobs to the community. On the eve of the senate debate over the budget – which includes $185 million in expected revenue from expanded gambling across the state – Arthur Barnes, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, hand delivered letters to each of the state senators, urging them to carefully consider bringing video slot machines to Rockingham Park.

According to Selectman Elizabeth Roth, residents have historically come out in support of expanded gambling in their community, passing three nonbinding referendums in favor of the proposition in recent memory.

In April, residents again voiced support for bringing video slots to Salem during a forum held by Millennium Gaming, which owns an option to purchase the racetrack if expanded gambling passes in New Hampshire, at Rockingham Park.

“I don’t think it is a panacea for all of our taxes, but the Rock has been traditionally helpful to community. In that respect alone, I have always been a strong proponent of expanded gambling so the racetrack could survive in our town,” she said. “We are on the losing end if this does not pass the legislature. I’ve got my fingers crossed to hope that it will.”

Were lawmakers to approve expanded gambling, Millennium Gaming plans to build a $450 million permanent facility at Rockingham Park and have a temporary casino operating within seven months.

Advocates of expanded gambling say the construction would bring jobs and revenue to the community as it has with Washington County, Pa., where another Millennium Gaming owned combination racetrack and casino brought in over $230 million in the first year of operation and along with it, continued economic growth.

Selectman Everett McBride described the present situation in New Hampshire as at a “breaking point.” The racetrack needs the revenue that expanded gambling is expected to bring in just as both the state and the town are searching for new revenue streams of their own, he said.

“For us, it’s a positive thing. Overwhelmingly, we’ve supported it at the ballot box. The community is behind it for sure,” McBride said.

McBride also pointed to the ongoing Texas Hold’em tournaments, bingo nights and craps games held at the racetrack already as a bright spot for local charities and nonprofit organizations who benefit from gaming proceeds as well as proof that expanded gambling would not impact the quality of life in the community.

“If you went to the racetrack on a Sunday, you would see there is plenty of gambling going on ... They can say we don’t have it, but they’re just kidding themselves,” he said. “Texas Hold’em is gambling. The state can say we don’t have gambling, but we do. In Salem (gambling) is not a problem.”

According to Ed Callahan, Rockingham Park’s general manager, the racetrack has pursued bringing in video slots since the early ’90s when the Lincoln Park greyhound track in Rhode Island successfully incorporated the machines into their operation. Since then, more than a dozen states have allowed for expanded gambling, something Callahan would like to see happen in New Hampshire.

Callahan is hoping the latest push for expanded gambling will come to fruition this time around, but said he would hesitate to put money on it.

“I’m in the gambling business, and it is a very rare occurrence that I can pick the the winning horse. Generally, I don’t pick ’em,” he said. “I hope the Legislature will look very closely at expanded gambling.”

Body found at Rockingham Park Racetrack

Salem Editor — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:03:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Police officials are waiting for the autopsy and toxicology results on the body of a 23- year-old woman found dead at the Rockingham Park Racetrack on May 21, but are not considering her death as suspicious.

The body of the woman was discovered inside one of the cottages located on the back side of the racetrack sometime before 3:30 p.m., according to authorities. Officials said there was no evidence at the scene that made the death appear suspicious.

Authorities now believe it may have been a possible drug overdose.

Police officials expected to have the results from the tests in the next two to three weeks.

Advocates say N.H. can still beat Bay State to expand gambling

Salem Editor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:50:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Though he does not come to the Rockingham Park racetrack regularly, Dennis Hansbury doesn’t think the prospect of casinos across the border will lure him away in the future.

A Massachusetts resident, Hansbury – who spent a Friday evening watching simulcast horse racing in the racetrack’s Sports Club – believes that if legislators in Boston allow for expanded gambling in the Commonwealth it will take away some of the business from the racetrack.

“It would (have an impact),” he said, adding that the casinos in Connecticut would probably also lose half of their business.

With lawmakers in Massachusetts getting set to debate a bill in both the House and Senate in the fall to expand gambling, advocates of expanded gambling in New Hampshire hope the competition will provide the motivation to allow 15,000 video slot machines in facilities across the Granite State, including Rockingham Park.

Though the New Hampshire Senate bill was tabled last month, Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, said the effort to expand gambling in New Hampshire is not yet dead. Both the economic downturn and the push around New England to expand gambling have become major assets, he said, but being first in the market has its advantages, and he stressed the importance of beating Massachusetts out of the gate.

Richard Killion, a spokesman for an expanded gambling advocacy group, Fix It Now, and Millennium Gaming, which holds an option to buy Rockingham Park, said even if Massachusetts were to pass expanded gambling legislation before New Hampshire does, video slots at the racetrack would bring in over $200 million in revenue.

Were lawmakers to approve expanded gambling in New Hampshire, Millennium Gaming plans to build a $450 million permanent facility at Rockingham Park and have a temporary facility up and running within seven months, according to Killion.

“Rockingham Park is uniquely positioned on the Massachusetts border. Up to 70 percent of the visits would come from Massachusetts. We know we can compete with anybody, even if they have expanded gambling in Massachusetts,” Killion said. “Let there be no doubt – which is why New Hampshire should seriously look at this now – there are significant benefits to be the first in the marketplace. The first is being the first to position yourself by really marketing yourself and developing a customer base.”

According to Killion, Millennium Gaming did two studies on the potential revenue from a permanent facility at Rockingham Park. Without competition from expanded gambling across the border, Millennium expects to draw in roughly $418.2 million.

The second study – based on the three casino model lawmakers in Massachusetts pursued in 2007 – estimated the racetrack would earn about $286.9 million.

The Meadows, a Millennium owned racetrack and casino in southwestern Pennsylvania, which advocates cite as a model for the future of the Salem racetrack, has thrived despite its location only a half an hour away from casinos in West Virginia, Killion said.

“Competition is not something to shy away from. There would be an impact (from expanded gambling in Massachusetts), but that impact is further mitigated by being first in the marketplace,” he said.

With about 80 percent of his clientele already making the trip from Massachusetts, Rockingham Park’s General Manager Ed Callahan believes expanded gambling in that state could have an effect on business, but said that any impact would depend on where the casinos set up shop and whether or not video slots had already come to the racetrack.

Not everyone believes that the promise of casinos in Massachusetts will lure away patrons from Rockingham Park.

William Armstrong, a Derry resident and native of Kentucky and having grown up near Churchill Downs, has been coming to the racetrack for 28 years and does not see expanded gambling across the border as a threat to the racetrack.

Still, he does not understand why legislators have not given expanded gambling the green light.

“People are going to gamble whether they go to Foxwoods, come here or go to their buddy’s house for poker. It doesn’t make a difference,” Armstrong said. “We’re all going to hell anyway. Why not go out cheaply?”

Bomb threat leads to arrest in Salem

Salem Editor — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:08:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

An investigation into a phoned-in bomb threat at the Mall at Rockingham Park led coincidentally to the arrest of an Apple Store employee who allegedly stole a set of speakers valued at $100.

On April 5, police said they found the speakers inside a suspicious- looking box near a large trash bin outside the building after an unknown man called 911 from a mall pay phone at about 3:30 p.m., told operators that there was a bomb, then hung up.

Though the area was secured and both the Salem Fire Department and a bomb-sniffing dog from the New Hampshire State Police Bomb Squad were called in, officers were able to quickly determine that the box did not contain explosives, according to the police.

Police arrested Bryan Donovan, 20, of Derry after a subsequent investigation led officers to believe Donovan had placed the speakers outside and planned to pick them up when his shift ended.

Donovan was charged with theft and released on personal recognizance pending his arraignment at Salem District Court.

Officials said the bomb threat was called in from a bank of payphones that is used regularly to make prank phone calls. Authorities are asking that anyone with more information regarding the prank bomb threat to call the Salem Police Department at 893-1911.

Comparing casinos - Proponents say Rockingham would be a success like others

Salem Editor — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:53:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

A few hundred miles south of Rockingham Park, Barry Endy, 75, has spent much of his life in the Pennsylvanian township of North Strabane where he has watched the community grow up around a racetrack reinvigorated by a new casino.

“The entire area has been built up around it,” he said. “They put in a large shopping outlet, which just opened, right near the interstate. At this point it’s done a lot for the township.”

Endy has seen what was once rural farmland undergo two economic booms, the first coming with the original construction of the Meadows racetrack in the ’60s and a second following fast on the heels of the addition of a new casino – set to open in April – that will house roughly 3,700 slot machines.

Now new retail outlets and hotels have sprung up and property taxes have dropped, a year and a half after the casino opened for business in a temporary facility.

Owned by Millennium Gaming, the same company which holds an option to purchase the Rockingham Park racetrack, the success of the Meadows Racetrack and Casino so far has gambling advocates in New Hampshire pointing not to Las Vegas or Atlantic City, but a community of roughly 12,000 residents nestled just south of Pittsburgh.

“It’s the very apt comparison,” said Richard Killion, a spokesman for the special interest group focused on getting legislation allowing the installation of slots at Rockingham Park, Fix It Now, and Millennium Gaming.

“It can be a great success here. We’re happy to talk about the Meadows because it is the most important comparison. Atlantic City or Las Vegas is not only an inappropriate comparison, it’s complete nonsense. It’s akin to comparing an elm tree to a cactus.”

According to Killion, Millennium is planning to undertake a $450 million casino-building project that supporters say will bring tens of thousands of new jobs to Salem. The project hinges on a bill that senators tabled earlier this month that would allow the installation of 15,000 video slot machines in facilities across the state.

The licensing fees from the slots alone would yield $50 million for the state up front, Killion said.

While slots advocates also point to the estimated $200 million in revenue the casino could bring to the state – based on the success of the Meadows, which earned more than $230 million in its first year – critics argue that the effect on the local communities outweighs the benefits.

“New Hampshire is the safest state in the country and Nevada has the highest crime rate in the country … It’s a major contributor to our quality of life and results in us having healthy communities and healthy kids. We don’t want to give that up,” said Jim Rubens, director of the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling. “The money that would come from taxing slots is not enough to compensate from the increases in criminal justice costs, welfare, embezzlement and on down the line.”

Though Rubens points to the continued opposition to gambling legislation held by the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, Salem’s Chief Paul Donovan said his department could put the revenue coming from the slots to good use, like funding the construction of a new police station.

“By far, the stuff that is coming across the border right now is far worse to deal with than what we would see at the Rock,” Donovan said. “The Rock has been part of Salem for a hundred years. We will benefit from the Rock getting the slots … The thing that amazes me the most is that people try to compare slots to big casinos in Atlantic City and Nevada. This is not going to be that. I worry more about the drugs and the organized shoplifting gangs.”

Outside of a surge in traffic along the roads in the immediate vicinity of the racetrack and casino, Endy – not a gambler himself – said the community has not seen any negative impact from the Meadows Casino.

“The racetrack has been there so long it’s kind of a fixture, and that softened the impact (of adding a casino) in many ways. People have always been aware that it’s there. We all kind of grew up with it,” Endy said. “I have not heard of any real complaints.”

Trainess find heading Salem poker table is harder than it looks

Salem Editor — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:54:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

“Until the river (card) that deck is in your hand. You never want to drop that deck. The integrity of the deck and the integrity of the game, you always want to keep it,” Tony Bantis tells the men and women training as poker dealers sitting around him at a card table.

“You always want to know what’s next. ‘OK, after this, I do this, this and this,’” he says, going through the motions with the cards and poker chips arrayed on the green felt table.

A floor manager at the Poker Room, operated by Granite State Poker at the Rockingham Park racetrack, Bantis instructs his dealers to know the game inside and out – the procedures, rules and etiquette.

“People think because they play, they can deal. There is a lot more to it. There’s a lot of mechanics,” he said, following the finish of his afternoon training seminar. “If they get the procedure down, apply them and (they’re) not getting nervous, then they’re running the game. They need to be in control.”

Bantis, who spends his evenings and nights at the racetrack, from 2 p.m. until 1 or 2 a.m., works with other managers to handle problems as they come up at any of the Poker Room’s sprawl of card tables. Part of that job is making sure that the dealers understand their role.

Dealing between 40 and 50 hands in an hour and handling a variety of multicolored poker chips as well as pots ranging from a few dollars to hundreds in one of the company’s sponsored tournaments, it’s not hard for the individual in the hot seat to make a mistake.

“Repetition,” Bantis said, is the key to ingraining the flow of the game into his dealers, from the exact series of steps for properly shuffling the deck to handling players who are using their cell phones at the game table or those with hearing or visual disabilities.

“It’s a lot more than you think. It’s a lot easier to play than to deal” said Tim Lutke after his first session as one of Bantis’ trainees.

Bantis and the other managers operating the Poker Room circle the tables acting as buffer between players and dealers if and when an unusual situation comes up.

Their role, Bantis said, was to help the dealers do their jobs. Having his dealers-in-training switch positions and rotate around the table as both players and dealers, Bantis peppers them with questions and hypothetical situations.

“I’m not trying to throw you into the spotlight. I’m just testing you,” he tells a nervous would-be dealer after asking him how he should match up the cards on the board to the winning player’s hand properly in a game of Texas Hold’em poker.

Laughing, Bantis points to the mess of face-down dead cards covering the dealer’s half of the table.

“I know it’s called a ‘muck’ pile, but it shouldn’t look like this,” he said.

Poker at Salem's Rockingham Park holding its own

Salem Editor — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:53:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Far from the neon lights of the Las Vegas strip, Rockingham Park’s Poker Room has seen table games rise in popularity while casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City suffer revenue losses.

Though horse betting has fallen by about 5 percent, according to Ed Callahan, the racetrack’s general manager, that figure is nowhere near the revenue drops reported by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the New Jersey Casino Control earlier this month.

The revenue generated by the casinos lining the Las Vegas strip fell about 7.4 percent in the month of August over that same period last year. Atlantic City suffered an even steeper decline with a 15 percent drop in revenue in September over the same month last year.

In contrast, Callahan said the games of chance offered at the Poker Room – operated by Granite State Poker – have risen in popularity among patrons. The poker tables have declined slightly, he said, but it has been offset by the rise in revenue from roulette, craps and blackjack.

Dan Brown, president of Granite State Poker, said the volume of traffic in the Poker Room has remained about the same, with some of his clientele preferring some of their newer games to poker.

“Ironically, we’re in expansion mode, and we’re offering different styles of gaming,” he said. "It seems like the poker numbers are down, but the other games are definitely increasing. I think there’s a slight decline in the people playing poker overall. Now they’re playing other games with lower stakes.”

According to Brown, the Poker Room had been “great” in July and August this year, but had seen about a 20 percent decrease in September. Brown attributed the off-month not to rising fuel costs or tough economic conditions, but to the popularity of the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots.

“What hits us is that they’re going to the sports bars to watch (the game),” he said. “They’re sidetracked by the New England sports.”

Despite the recent downturn, Brown is hoping to expand the games offered at the Poker Room to include other variations on poker besides the popular Texas Hold ’em. While other facilities are letting people go, Brown said he was still hiring and had more than 160 employees on his payroll.

An increase in the maximum bet limit from $2 to $4 had also generated interest for the Poker Room, according to Callahan.

A poker player for more than five years, Rich Ryzman has visited larger casinos like Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, but said the proximity of the Poker Room at Rockingham Park had him coming back.

“It’s easier access. It’s easy to buy in,” said Ryzman, a Salem resident. “People like to play poker and that’s why they come here.”

With an expected amount of about 1.5 million in revenue generated from the Poker Room going to local charities this year, Ryzman said it is nice to know the money ended up where it is needed.

According to Brown, about 80 percent of his clientele comes from Massachusetts, where poker players like Paul Shaughnessy have limited options.

“It’s the closest place to where I live to play poker,” he said. “It’s closer than the two hours to Foxwoods.”

Brown hopes to eventually have at least 300 people on his tables at any given time during the room’s busiest periods on Saturdays and expand from 60 tables to 90. On a good night – usually over the weekend – the Poker Room averages between 400 and 600 patrons.

“It’s a working class environment where everything is reasonable. A working class guy can come in with $100 or $200 and have fun,” Brown said. “There are no poker pros coming in every night. There’s no intimidation factor.”

Salem poker room winners to compete in Vegas' World Series of Poker

Salem Editor — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:19:00 GMT

BY LYNNE SNIERSON

Five players from the poker room at Rockingham Park, who each won a seat worth $10,000 to the World Series of Poker, already know what they will do with the multi-million dollar prize up for grabs.

“The jackpot last year was $8.5 million, and of course I have dreams about the money if I win it all,” said Billy Carrier, a 25-year-old wireless phone salesman from Salem.

“All of my friends expect to be flown out to Vegas to party non-stop for a week. Then I’ll retire from my job and try my hand at playing professional poker.”

When Carrier and Myles McDonough, Kay Sweeney, Jay Murphy and Dennis Rainville get into the World Series of Poker at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas over the July 4 weekend, they will be playing against the pros and some of the biggest names on the circuit will be among the 7,000 contestants from all over the planet.

But even though none of them has ever played in a tournament of this magnitude before, not one is intimidated.

“If you don’t expect to win, don’t even bother going, said Murphy, who lives in Goffstown, and manages the poker room at another venue. “If I win, my wife and I won’t have to worry about sending our two girls, aged 7 and 10, to college.”

Rockingham’s Fantastic Five each won their seats at the World Series of Poker tables through single-day tournaments with a $150 buy-in at the racetrack over the winter and spring.

All have turned down offers from other players to purchase their seats and explained that for their investment of only $150, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is priceless.

“I’ve already talked to my financial planner about investing all of the money I’ll make from endorsement deals after I win it all,” Sweeney of Acton, Mass., said with a big grin. “I’m already thinking about all of the famous players and big celebrities I’ll meet and hang out with. Then I’ll turn pro and be one of them.”

Rainville, who hails from Carlisle, Mass., would also like to retire and join the professional poker tour, and McDonough, a retired computer programmer from Watertown, Mass., has dreams of traveling around the world should they be the last one standing at the final table.

“The ultimate goal for any player is to be at the final table, and to win it all would be unreal,’ said Carrier.

For these five players from Rockingham Park’s poker room, the possibility is now very real.

Salem mall parking deck safe after sweeper truck got stuck in holes

Salem Editor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:46:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

A structural engineer has deemed the parking deck at the Rockingham Mall safe after a street sweeper’s tires cracked the concrete and got stuck.

The sweeper was cleaning the second floor of the 17- year-old structure at around 6:45 a.m. on Friday, May 30, when the concrete underneath one of the tires cracked, creating a large hole.

The driver was able to free the sweeper from the hole, but then got caught in a second hole made by the tires.

The Salem Fire Department was called to the scene and immediately secured the area. There were no other vehicles on the second floor of the structure at the time.

The deck was closed all day Friday until the engineer from THP Limited Inc. and the Salem Fire Department agreed that it was safe for parking, said public relations specialist Holly Cirillo of the firm Griffin, York and Krause, representing the mall.

“Nobody was hurt and no cars were damaged. It was before the mall opened,” said Cirillo.

Metal plates are covering the two holes, about 2-by-4 feet in diameter each, until permanent repairs, scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, were made. Work crews were to be performing upgrades, repairs and maintenance, Cirillo said.

Company wants slots at Rockingham

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:30:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

An audience of business people, local officials and state legislators got a look at plans for a revitalized Rockingham Park, presented by a company that hopes to bring 3,000 video slot machines to the 101-year-old Salem landmark.

William Wortman, who owns 20 percent of the park, also hopes to return thoroughbred racing as part of his company’s plans.

“I am committed to revitalizing Rockingham to bring it to its former grandeur,” said Wortman, the co-owner of Millennium Gaming.

Millennium is the majority owner of Cannery Casino Resorts, which owns or leases four casinos in Las Vegas and Pennsylvania.

The audience, made up of about 50 people, were gathered inside Rockingham’s clubhouse on Thursday, Jan. 24.

They also heard from Matthew Landry of The Innovation Group, a consulting company that estimated that slots at the racetrack could annually generate $294 million to $402 million, depending on how much competition there would be in Massachusetts and at greyhound tracks in New Hampshire.

Half of the revenues would go to the state in taxes, the study assumes.

For Millennium to bring slots to Rockingham, the state Legislature would have to allow for the expansion of gambling.

Gov. John Lynch has said it must be demonstrated to him that expanding gambling will not adversely affect the quality of life in the state before he would agree to it.

“We need the revenue. We need the money,” said state Rep. Mary Griffin, R-Windham, following the company’s presentation.

She cited that the state is experiencing a shortfall.

“Personally, I think it’s a good thing,” she said. “It brings in jobs. It’s entertaining.”

Currently, Rockingham employs 250 people, according to Edward Callahan, its president and general manager. Wortman estimates that as many as 1,200 people could be employed when the project is complete.

If lawmakers agree to allow slots, Millennium could have a temporary facility up and running about eight months later.

A new clubhouse would include a retail shop, gaming areas, restaurants, space for banquets and conferences, a food court, an outside covered grandstand, and VIP boxes.

“This represents a very unique opportunity for all of us,” said architect David Climans. “I think the tradition here, the 100 year history of Rockingham, is extremely valuable and our whole philosophy is to respect the heritage that’s been here all these years, and really to create something that’s reminiscent of what’s been here but brings it into a new era.”

Rockingham, which opened in June, 1906, currently offers live harness racing, simulcast racing, bingo, Texas Hold ‘Em Poker tournaments, various attractions and other activities.

Game on – Salem officials speak in favor of video gambling at Rockingham

Salem Editor — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:59:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

With the prospect of video gambling at Rockingham Park on the horizon once again, town officials and residents have told the state House of Representatives that they’re in full support.

Several officials, along with Rockingham Park manager Ed Callahan, testified before a House Ways and Means subcommittee recently in hopes of convincing the state to pass a pro-gaming bill that could bring revenue to the state.

The revenue might be used to alleviate the state’s education funding issues and also bring money to other state programs.

If passed, the bill could bring about dramatic changes for the struggling 170-acre horse racing park.

Callahan has been pushing for video slot machines and other forms of gambling for 13 years.

In recent years, the park stopped hosting thoroughbred racing because it can’t afford to, Callahan said.

Making ends meet has become a challenge, he said.

But if the raceway had state approval to host gambling, Callahan said he envisions an entirely renovated facility with slot machines, restaurants and live entertainment.

“The eventuality is that racing will not sustain itself,” he said. “With the introduction of gaming, we could draw a bigger crowd and it would be very beneficial to the local community.”

The possibility of casinos being built in Massachusetts has also added pressure to the situation, according to Callahan. Middleborough, Mass., recently approved a Wampanoag casino to be built in town, but the proposal still has to be approved by state officials.

Many Salem residents have long supported allowing gambling at the park.

Two nonbinding referendums that approved gambling at Rockingham Park were passed in 1994 and again in 2003. Despite the residents’ push, the New Hampshire Legislature nixed the idea both times.

Town Manager Henry LaBranche said that though the majority of Salem residents approve of the plan, anti-gambling advocates have also spoken before state officials, citing increased crime and other negative effects of gaming.

“I think that some people are opposed because they believe gambling is an addiction, and it creates other social problems,” he said.

Still, Salem Police Chief Paul Donovan, who also testified recently, said these anti-gambling sentiments are often misconceptions.

“It’s a knee-jerk reaction and some people think (any gambling) is going to be a criminal enterprise,” he said. “But if it is controlled and regulated properly, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Personally, I see this as beneficial. That’s why I went up there to speak.”

Selectman Arthur Barnes, who joined Donovan in testifying, said he went to represent the people of Salem, but he’s not completely for bringing gaming to Rockingham Park.

“Personally, I’m not opposed to it but I’m not a strong supporter of it either,” he said. “But since I was selected to testify, I’ve received many calls about (gaming). Eighty percent of the people I talked to were for (gaming).”

While the state may need more revenue to fund education and other programs, gambling isn’t the only possibility. The Ways and Means Committee has also formed subcommittees on sales tax and another on smaller taxes and fees.

An income tax subcommittee was quickly disbanded after it was formed.

Callahan said he intends to keep lobbying for gaming at the park. Otherwise, Rockingham Park may end up being sold to developers in the future, he said.

“The town should have the option to vote on this for real, but to be honest, most of the legislature doesn’t give a damn about Salem,” he said. “Regretfully, the timeline on this doesn’t keep extending. We just can’t afford to do what we used to do. There are a lot of people on our side, but we have the rest of the state to convince and that’s not easy.”