… try, try, try, try, try again. That’s the New Hampshire Lege, making its umpteenth attempt to legalize casino gambling. State Sen. Lou D’Allesandro (D) has crafted a bill that would bring VLTs and table 
games to Salem. The bill was reported favorably out of the Ways & Means Committee and now goes to the full Senate. But it’s got the city of Rochester crying foul and saying it merits consideration as a casino site, too. Civic boosters are even brandishing that old shibboleth, horseracing, saying a racino could bring harness racing — which expired in 2011 for lack of state subsidies — back to Rochester Fairgrounds. Such a proposal, however, would need local approval. Eighty percent of Salem residents have gone on record in favor of a casino.
Eureka Casinos consultant Bill McLaughlin, despite being a point man for the Rochester site, backed the current bill at least to the extent of disputing some of the bugaboos that usually arise when gaming is before the Lege. “People can run down to the convenience store and use manual lottery and scratch tickets. If you’re going to argue about gaming, argue about it on its merits, not its incendiary points,” he said. At any rate, casino legalization has such a high mortality rate in the state capital that there’s no point getting all het up about it just yet.
* A “full lobbyist employment acct.” That’s what one Georgia wag calls the assault force mobilized to persuade the Peachtree State’s Legislature to legalize casinos. The count of lobbyists retained is now up to 36, 
nearly half of them reporting to MGM Resorts International, which — leaving nothing to chance — has retained five separate firms. It even detached MGM National Harbor President Lorenzo Creighton to press its suit in Georgia. You’d think bankrupt Caesars Entertainment would have better things to do than march through Georgia, but it’s joined the parade. Casino companies and the horsey set have even been passing the hat for Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, even though the latter is cool toward gaming interests, and have been showering money on key lawmakers. Former Las Vegas Sands COO Michael Leven has been negotiating through the media. “My experience is those kind of things become counterproductive,” said lobbyist Rusty Paul of the full-court press.
Cagle’s boss, Gov. Nathan Deal (R) remains opposed to casinos and, in an election year, it’s a touchy issue, particularly if the Religious Right 
gets involved. Pushing back from the other side is a coalition of casino interests that includes Penn National Gaming and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, now looking to Georgia after having vanquished Alabama. Legalization of horseracing could act as a — pardon the pun — Trojan Horse, softening up the anti-gambling climate in Georgia sufficiently for casinos to sweep in afterward. As long we’re punning, the best hope for gaming interests is the need to preserve the HOPE Scholarship fund. The argument being made is that casino taxes could keep HOPE alive, as it were. As Creighton said, “It is for Georgians to decide if the destination casino resorts are a viable strategy for funding the HOPE scholarship.” For now, the issue is being studied, with no imminent action expected.
* If certain people could see beyond the end of their noses, they’d stop opposing efforts by tribes like the Wilton Rancheria to develop casinos, as a means of weaning themselves off state and federal subsidies. This free-market spirit is to be applauded — especially when it involves a community afflicted with crushing poverty and 45% unemployment. The Wilton band is trying pull itself up by its bootstraps and that’s to be respected, not fought.
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone on record as favoring a casino in Eilat, on the Red Sea, provided that it’s only for tourists. Geez, I can’t imagine who Bibi has in mind as the developer (probably begins with “Sheldon” and ends with “Adelson”).
