More than a third of New Hampshire towns will be voting this month on whether to allow keno in their towns and reap the benefits as funding for full-day kindergarten. Under state law bars, restaurants and other venues that “pour” alcohol can offer keno, but only if town meetings approve it.
More than 220 towns are eligible and a third have already voted. Seven of the state’s 13 cities have already approved of Keno 603, which is a digital hybrid of bingo and a lottery scratcher.
Last week a resident of Jaffrey, one of several opposing the games, told the Select Board, “In my mind, there’s no free money. The money’s gonna come out of the community from those least able to make good choices and least capable of paying the bills.” He added, “They’re looking for free money. They’re guilty of it, and so are you if you think it’s free money.”
The man, quoted by the Boston Globe, continued, “The argument can be, ‘It’s just keno, it’s just the lottery,’ but what will be next?” he said. “It just gets worse and worse.”
Selectman Frank Sterling disagreed: “If someone wants to play it, they can play it. If they don’t want to play it, they don’t have to play it. But the best thing about it is that money raised is for kindergarten.”
The Board of Selectmen won’t be deciding the issue, the town’s voters will. It also won’t be endorsing the games.
Bob Cavanugh, owner of Kimball’s Cav’em in Pembroke, was interviewed by the Concord Monitor. He is hoping his town won’t follow Concord’s example and vote down Keno.
“It wouldn’t be bad for business, that’s for sure,” he said. “It might even draw new people over here.”
Keno is doing very well in New Hampshire. It has raised more than $2 million in the first ten weeks since it appeared in 50 venues. The two best producing locations have made between $115,000 and $200,000 since being installed last autumn.
Towns that border towns that have voted against Keno have an opportunity to profit at their neighbors’ expense. One restaurateur told the Monitor, “You can’t play in Concord, so it’s either drive all the way to Manchester or Franklin, or come here to Boscawen. It really seems like a no-brainer.”
