The casino bill that passed the New Hampshire Senate last month by 13-10 died in the House last week by a vote of 275-82, and for good measure voted to indefinitely postpone it so it could be brought up again this year.
The bill would have authorized two casinos with a total of 5,000 slots and 240 gaming tables.
The 400-member House, always a hotbed of independence, especially when it feels that the Senate is trying to herd it, delivered a very hard slap against expanding gaming.
The bill, introduced by veteran gaming stalwart Senator Lou D’Allesandro, wasn’t able to overcome objections from opponents like Rep. Patricia Lovejoy, who said that the two casinos proposed would cannibalize existing businesses. Others said that gaming market is already saturated.
The bill didn’t have as many supporters as in past years due to the fact that Rockingham Park, long the focus of efforts to try to save the horseracing industry, closed last year and the property has been sold.
