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Open Records and Transparency are Integral to The Integrity of Gaming

Open records, including transparency over who is winning money in casino gaming, is integral to ensuring the integrity of gaming and public trust and confidence in gaming operations. Without the public being able to clearly know who won something and is receiving money, the public cannot have confidence that the results of a contest, sweepstakes, etc. are legitimate. In California, State Law mandates that the “your full name, the name and location of the retailer who sold you the winning ticket, the date you won and the amount of your winnings, including your gross and net installment payments, are matters of public record and are subject to disclosure.” In New Hampshire, the State Lottery Commission argued in Court that it is necessary to publicly disclose winners, so the public knows that “they are bona fide lottery participants” and that there are “real winners.” By failing to disclose the results of a poker tournament, the public cannot be assured that there are truly legitimate
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Opinion: New Hampshire Must Kill Senate Bill 112 and Protect Free Market Competition in the Gaming Business

Senate Bill 112 needs to die. The bill, which would put a moratorium in place on the issuance of new gaming licenses in New Hampshire, would effectively prevent any new entry into the casino gaming business, curbing competition and giving an advantage to existing operators who won’t have to compete against new innovations and improved customer experience that could come from a new entrant into the market. The proponents of Senate Bill 112 [SB 112] say that the moratorium is needed because of market saturation. If that’s a valid reason to prevent a new business from opening in New Hampshire, then they ought to also enact a law that puts a moratorium on the opening of any new Dunkin’ Donuts in New Hampshire, since there are over 220 Dunkin’ Donuts locations in the State compared to just 14 operators of casino gaming. In a natural business cycle, new entrants will come into the market and those already in the market have to adapt to stay competitive. By preventing this competition, the co
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Tournaments “Suspended” at MGM Springfield

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SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, USA (Poker Uncensored) – Poker players who enjoyed tournament play in Western Massachusetts are out of luck as MGM Springfield, the only licensed poker room Western Massachusetts, has suspended tournaments. The room continues to offer cash poker games with various high hand promotions daily.   MGM Springfield says that tournaments are “temporarily suspended” and their November calendar shows no events. A call to the poker room revealed that tournaments are unlikely to return until at least 2024. It is rumored that the poker room had difficulties with finding adequate staff to properly run tournaments, leading to management making the decision to suspend tournament play. --Matt Soleyn, Senior News Editor, Poker Uncensored
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Chasers Poker Room Expansion Plan Effectively Blocked by New Hampshire Supreme Court Ruling

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, USA (Poker Uncensored) -- Plans to expand the Chasers Poker Room in Salem, New Hampshire by putting charitable gaming operations in a former K-Mart location at 167 South Broadway could be in jeopardy following a ruling by the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The expansion plan would add hundreds of gaming positions, including electronic gaming machines and tables. This summer, however, the matter came before the Supreme Court of the State of New Hampshire in the Case Kymalimi, LLC & a. v. Town of Salem after the owner of the property at 167 South Broadway appealed a decision from the New Hampshire Superior Court. Kymalimi, LLC is the legal entity that owned the Chasers Poker Room prior to its sale to Churchill Downs, Inc., a publicly traded company that trades under the ticket CHDN on the NASDAQ.   Town of Salem regulations require that for a site plan to be reviewed and approved, there must be a letter of permission from the owner of the property. The property
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Commission to Evaluate Gaming in New Hampshire

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, USA (Poker Uncensored) -- A thirteen-person commission has been tasked with conducting an evaluation charitable gaming laws, including recent changes to the laws, in New Hampshire. The commission consists of the following members: Sen. Timothy Lang Sen. Lou D'Allesandro Rep. Laurie Sanborn (Chair) Rep. Fred Doucette Rep. John Janigian Rep. Benjamin Baroody Rep. Richard Ames Charles McIntyre, Director of the New Hampshire Lottery Aaron Gomes, Charitable Gaming Operator Norman Roberge, Charitable Gaming Charity Giovanna Bonilla, Charitable Gaming Charity John Formella, Attorney General Patrick Abrami The commission has been allocated a budget of $150,000 and is required to report its findings and legislative recommendations by November 1, 2024. --Matt Soleyn, Senior News Editor, Poker Uncensored
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Opinion: The Brook’s 2-Day Closure Makes It Clear Greater Oversight and Regulation of Technology Used for Charitable Gaming Is Required in New Hampshire

For two days this week, players have been unable to visit The Brook in Seabrook, New Hampshire and are unable to place bets on electronic historical horse race machines, play table games like roulette, or play games of skill such as poker. The Brook on Wednesday called this “an unfortunate outage.” The technology problems plaguing the charitable gaming facility continued into Thursday, with The Brook having to remain closed for a second day due to “an operational issue” with their computer systems.  It should be concerning to consumers that a company that is handling millions of dollars was knocked out of commission for two days because of a computer system problem. This is not a small operation that runs a couple of laptops. The Brook has significant amounts of data, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII) about customers. The Brook also has data that is financial in nature and that should be subject to regulatory audit and retention rules. Modern gaming facilities rely si
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Foxwoods Announces New Poker Tournaments

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MASHANTUCKET, CONNECTICUT, USA (Poker Uncensored) — Foxwoods Resort Casino has announced two new recurring poker tournaments. Starting on August 11th, Foxwoods will hold a Thursday morning event staring at 10:10 AM. The $160 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold’Em Tournament will allow registration and re-entry until the start of the 8th level, and will feature a 30,000 chip stack with 20 minute levels.  On Sundays, starting July 31st, Foxwoods will replace its current $500 buy-in tournament with a $360 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold’Em event. This tournament will feature a 40,000 chip starting stack, with the first 9 levels being 25 minutes and remaining levels 30 minutes. Players will be able to register and re-enter until the start of the 10th level.  The addition of the new tournaments brings Foxwoods up to having three tournaments a week, which is still shy of the four tournaments a week held at their closest competitor Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The tournament offerings remain si
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