While there are no plans to open a Mohegan Sun casino on Maynard Street, risk-taking students may soon be able to legally quench their desires for gambling just over an hour away from campus.
The New Hampshire legislature is contemplating Senate Bill 225, which would allow for over 6,000 computer gambling machines across the state and gambling in three hotels located in northern New Hampshire.
The bill's sponsor, Senator Lou D'Allesandro, D-Manchester, said the bill is aimed at fixing the state's projected budget deficit of nearly $250 billion.
But critics of the bill believe it will lead to an increase in gambling addictions while fueling embezzlement, child abuse, alcoholism and crime.
Jim Rubens, who heads the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling, opposes the bill because he thinks it conjures an image of government supported gambling addictions.
"This is the same reason we don't legalize crack cocaine parlors," he said, adding that the bill would create an additional 3,000 pathological gamblers.
In an e-mail to supporters, he wrote, "Casinos are the only budget fix that would damage our state's reputation as a healthy, family-friendly place to live, work and visit."
Bill proponents dismissed Rubens' concerns.
"It's not true," D'Allesandro said in reference to social problems from gambling. "We have those problems today without gambling."
He noted that money would be set aside to deal with gambling addiction. But Rubens thinks these programs, such as gambling hotlines, are too little too late.
"When people call those hotlines, they're usually already bottoming out," he said.
While proponents think the proposed legislation will fix a gaping budget hole, Rubens disagrees.
"They're flat out ignoring the data," he said of the bill's proponents. "When you add up all the costs of gambling, it's about two to three dollars out of the state's economy for every dollar in. It's a net negative for the state's economy."
In response to critics concerns that Massachusetts' possible legalization of gambling will evaporate any potential profits in New Hampshire, D'Allesandro noted that the revenues supposed by the bill are predicted with this concern in mind.
D'Allesandro said the bill would not greatly affect Dartmouth, except for possibly limiting gambling at the College by providing an alternative place to gamble. Hinsdale Greyhound Park, just over an hour away, would serve as the closest location to campus. Legalized gambling, he said, might give students something to do with their money.
Referring specifically to Dartmouth students, D'Allesandro said, "You have so much money, you don't know what to do with it."
It is not clear whether campus gamblers will take advantage of nearby slot machines. Joseph Mannarino '07, known on campus for his poker prowess, believes the bill will not change Dartmouth's gambling scene.
Rubens, however, thinks legalized gambling would cause problems at Dartmouth. "You would end up at Dartmouth with some number of gambling abusers," he said.
Others disagreed.
"I think that these machines will have absolutely no effect. All of the gamblers that I know absolutely despise slot machines, as they are probably the least cerebral of all gambling forms," Mannarino said.
While he is confident the bill will generate badly needed revenue for the state, D'Allesandro is not sure the bill will pass, but "it's got a shot," he said.
