Operator News
US – Concord Casino owner has licence suspended for six months and told to sell charitable casino
By Phil - 4 January 2024
The Concord Casino in New Hampshire will be shut for six months following the suspension of its owners licence, a former state senator accused of buying luxury cars with COVID-19 relief money.
The nine-table poker room at Concord Casino is located on the second floor of The Draft Sports Bar & Grill. Its owner was looking to open a much larger charitable gaming venue a few miles away.
The state has said the charitable gaming license could reopen in six months if the casino is sold to a new owner. If it isn’t sold its licence will be suspended for a further two years. The New Hampshire Lottery Commission wanted the gaming licenses held by Andy Sanborn and Concord Casino be revoked ‘indefinitely.’
Department of Safety hearing officer Michael King believed the state had enough evidence to rule that Mr. Sanborn and his wife, Rep. Laurie Sanborn, had falsified the nature of their charitable gaming business when they applied for a $844,000 pandemic assistance loan and then spent the money on three race cars, two Porsches and a Ferrari.
Casinos and charitable gaming operators weren’t allowed such loans so Mr. Sanborn missed out his business name, ‘Concord Casino,’ and said the main business was ‘miscellaneous services.’
Mr. King said it was not within his remit to rule if the loan application was fraudulent, but said filing it with ‘clear false and/or misleading information’ was enough to suspend his license because such action ‘undermines the public confidence in charitable gaming.’
