Charitable gambling site opening delayed – Eagle-Tribune

SALEM, N.H. Though the opening date has been pushed back, town officials are anticipating that Salems forthcoming charitable gambling operation will have a regional impact.

During a planning board meeting on Tuesday, Planning Director Ross Moldoff proposed that the board consider naming the new charitable gambling business as a development with regional impact.Under state law, local land use authorities such as planning and zoning boards can formally mark a project as having a regional impact. Once designated, the town must notify a regional commission and it is recommended that the town or cityto consider the interests of other potentially affected municipalities.

Its such an unusual type of facility, thefirst of its typethat weve seen. Its going to attract people from all over, Moldoff said.The board ultimately did not make the designation.

Cheers Poker Room and Casino will be the first charitable gambling organization to open in Salem sincethe voters approved charitable gambling andthe closure of Rockingham Park last year, and will bring in money for many local nonprofit organizations.

Money made at Rockingham Park supplemented the budgets of 36 local nonprofits, generating nearly $2 million annually, according to the racetracks general manager.After the racetrack closed last September, multiple businesses filed proposals to open charitable gambling locations. However, citing zoning concerns, the town rejected all of them. The issue then went to the voters, who approved it in March.

The poker room and casino will be located at 286 North Broadway next to Isabellas Pizzeria. The 12,00-square-foot facility once housed a gym and, previously, Maxwell Plumbing Supply.

About anything that Dan Dandreo does to this site will be an improvement, planning representative George Fredette said.

Dandreo had originally planned to open the gambling business in June, but has pushed it back to the last week of summer as they work to get permits and building plan approvals. The poker room has yet to determine where the driveway will be and submit a traffic study. They also must get approval from the state Department of Transportation, as North Broadway is a state road.

Once it opens, Cheers Poker Room and Casino will be open until 1 p.m. There are homes 350 feet away on nearby Old Rockingham Road, and a police detail will be employed during peak times.

Hobbyist and self-professed poker room expert Ashley Adams and other poker players attended Tuesdays hearing in support of the business and dismiss any misconceptions about gamblers.

Poker rooms and poker players are almost always exceptional corporate citizens. There are exceptions, but theyre less than at Fenway Park or what used to be called the Boston Garden, he said.

Cheers will seat almost 300 people and will include food and beverage options. It is expected to employ close to 30 people.

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Charitable gambling site opening delayed - Eagle-Tribune