The co-owners of the former charity Keene Casino in Keene, New Hampshire have acquired the operations of a competitor, the Wonder Casino, and will merge the two operations into a new gambling venture in Elm City.
Slot machines and traditional commercial casinos are illegal in New Hampshire, but locations offering keno, bingo, and table games licensed though charitable gaming regulations are permitted. Fundraisers offer table games of chance.
Dick Anagnost, president of Anagnost Investments Inc. in Manchester, said he and son Stavros have purchased Wonder Casino from Emerald Gaming LLC. Financial arrangements were not revealed.
The original Keene Casino property is being converted into residential units.
“We just approached (Wonder co-owner Jared Goodell’s) group and said that we’d need to move anyway and were going to have a bigger space, so we asked if they’d consider selling because they were already in place,” Anagnost told the Keene Sentinel. “We were able to reach a mutual agreement, and everybody came away happy.”
Wonder Casino will retain its existing name and operating hours, from noon to 1 a.m. seven days a week, Anagnost said, adding that around 10 percent of the Keene’s former equipment will be combined with 90 percent of Wonder’s to form the new casino. “The rest of it has been put in a storage trailer and brought back here in Manchester to our warehouse lot,” Anagnost said.
