Aldermen are making slow but steady progress in crafting legislation to further regulate charitable gambling operations in the city.

The board has yet to vote on two pieces of legislation that would tighten regulations on gaming parlors, but an aldermanic committee did amend one measure to make the regulatory process more stringent.

Ward 9 Alderman Greg Williams has proposed legislation that would prevent strips of gambling facilities from opening up in town.

Alderman Marc Plamondon, of Ward 4, wants to ensure that on-street parking downtown won’t be dominated by card players, who he said often play for hours at a time.

Last week, the aldermanic Planning and Economic Development Committee amended Plamondon’s proposal so that the planning board must now consider the number of public and private parking spaces available to a gaming facility a factor in whether to approve such facilities.

Plamondon said he wants to tighten regulations that would determine the hours of on-street parking, making it more difficult for such operations to prove to the planning board that they have sufficient parking.

Gerald Prunier, a lawyer for one charitable gaming company, and a representative from the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce, said aldermen shouldn’t be too quick to reject new gambling operations entirely.

“I understand the concerns here, that no one wants a strip of this kind of use that would end up looking like Las Vegas in one particular area, but I think we can work together to see that doesn’t happen,” Prunier said.

A representative for the chamber said, “The aldermen who proposed this have their heart in the right place, but we think there is still some work to be done.”A favorable recommendation from the planning board means the measure needs only a majority vote from the aldermen to pass. An unfavorable recommendation means a two-thirds majority is required.

Plamondon said gaming operations have been proposed for at least two spots downtown.

The proposed legislation was prompted by a plan by New Hampshire Charitable Gaming of Rye to open a poker parlor at the site of the former St. Stanislaus Hall on Pine Hill Road. The zoning board of adjustment shot down that plan earlier this year, and the company won’t appeal the decision, according to Prunier, who represents the firm.

Yet, a state law passed last year allows charitable organizations to hire professional gambling operations to help them with fundraising, and many are eager to get going. New Hampshire Charitable Gaming is still looking for a suitable location to open in Nashua, which is considered a lucrative site, Prunier said.

“We rely on any outside service we can find,” Pat Francis, executive director of the Nashua Senior Activities Center, told officials earlier this year. “For these people, it’s their form for entertainment. They’re just playing cards.”

According to Jim Rafferty, president of New Hampshire Charitable Gaming, 35 percent of profits from his operation would go to charity. His poker parlor would be open every day until 1 a.m.

Nashua Telegraph (09/09/07)

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