A licensed poker room in New Hampshire’s capital city of Concord is likely to remain permanently closed after the state’s attorney general’s office rejected the sale of the business.
The Concord Casino in downtown Concord was shuttered at the end of 2023 amid allegations that its owner, former State Senator Andrew Sanborn, had fraudulently obtained nearly a million dollars in pandemic loans, then spent the funds in illicit ways, including the purchase of three luxury sportscars.
Not only had the funds allegedly been misappropriated for personal use, Sanborn also allegedly misrepresented the purpose of the loans, which were not allowed by New Hampshire law to be used to support gambling-related enterprises. Three weeks ago, following a year-long investigation, Sanborn was arrested and charged with theft by deception. The felony charge could bring Sanborn up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
Scheme inflated revenue
Sanborn and the parent entity of Concord Casino, Win Win Win LLC, were both charged in the scheme in which prosecutors also allege the cardroom’s revenues were also inflated to support a claim for more money, alongside the room not being eligible for COVID-19 loans anyway.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s decision to block the proposed sale of Concord Casino to an unnamed buyer announced on Friday brought a response from Sanborn’s attorneys that the state was trying to prevent Sanborn from receiving a “fair sale” of the business. Sanborn had been ordered to sell Concord Casino within the first six months of 2024 and Sanborn’s attorneys also assert that the state is attempting to prevent Sanborn from selling the business in any form.
In August, Sanborn also sued the N.H. Attorney General’s Office in a seemingly related manner. That case remains sealed, however, though the fact that Sanborn is seeking an injunction or temporary restraining order is known from the nature of the filing.
Difficulties raise chances for online poker legalization
One factor indirectly related to the case is that Sanborn’s legal problems might actually raise the chances that New Hampshire could legalize online casino gambling (including poker) in the near future. While Sanborn launched Concord Casino after leaving the state’s senate, his wife, Laurie, has been a long-serving state representative, and she played a prominent role in 2022 and 2023 in derailing online-gambling legislation introduced by State Senator Tim Lang and other legislators.
Laurie Sanborn has not been charged to date in connection with the fraud case her husband faces, though she decided not to run for reelection last November. While the extent to which Sanborn’s opposition to the online gaming legislation was self-saving protectionism is open for debate, her exit from the legislature improves the prospects for any new pro-gaming measures Lang or others might introduce.