The owner of Big Bear Lodge in Brookline wants to expand
gambling operations and needs the planning board’s approval to do it.

New
Hampshire Charitable Gambling LLC is poised to enter a lease agreement
with the lodge, owned by Paul Andres, to use space there to run Hold
‘Em poker games, according to a site plan application.

The
planning board will hold a public hearing at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday on the
hours of operation of the lodge, which need to be adjusted to allow for
the games.

The lodge already received permission to hold bingo
and has hosted games since 1999, according to a report prepared for the
planning board by town planner Valerie Maurer.

According to state law, the games could take place from 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-1 a.m. Sunday.

The lodge’s hours now are 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays.

New
Hampshire Charitable Gambling President Jim Rafferty said the Big Bear
Lodge proposal is different than recent proposals his company has made
in Nashua. Andres approached him, he said, about running poker games in
Brookline.

New Hampshire Charitable Gambling is a new company
Rafferty runs and is backed by eight investors. When he’s able to nail
down a space to begin hosting games, he’ll hire a poker manager and
dealers, he said.

“We have a plan that would put 15 tables in operation relatively quickly,” if the plan is approved, Rafferty said.

He
declined to estimate how much local charities might be given from the
games, but said the Brookline Fire Department is one nonprofit that
could benefit.

Andres and Big Bear Lodge Manager Deb Lefebvre
have been in charge of lining up other charities, he said. Neither was
available for comment.

Charitable gaming is regulated by the
state’s parimutuel commission and has been legal for a decade. Recent
changes to state law allow a professional company, like New Hampshire
Charitable Gambling, to run the games.

State law requires
charitable fundraising firms to put up a $20,000 performance bond to
ensure that funds are available to reimburse charities if an
organization is not able to meet its obligations.

Recently, the
state suspended the gambling license of New England Fund Raising Co.
Inc. after claims it had stolen up to $90,000 intended for nonprofit
groups across the state.

Private companies can keep 65 percent of the money made at the games with the remainder given to charities.

This
summer New Hampshire Charitable Gambling attempted to start poker games
in downtown Nashua at the former ArcLight store on West Pearl Street
and at St. Stanislaus Hall. That plan was quashed by a 2-2 vote by the
Nashua Zoning Board of Adjustment that denied the variance the company
needed.

As recently as July the company was looking at buying Avery Furniture on Avery Street for gaming operations, Rafferty said.

The Telegraph (09/04/07)

Recovered from the Poker Players Alliance archive index. This is the archived item as preserved.