Keno: A sin for some, the game is seen as salvation for others

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN

Josh Harding and Mark Young, co-owners of Lakeview Tavern, were hoping that, after supporting local hockey and other community activities, the town of Meredith would in turn support their business by allowing them to offer the game of keno.

During the Meredith Town Meeting, Young recounted how they had taken a run-down building on Main Street and spent a year renovating it “into something nice” before opening to the public.

“Keno would enable us to serve people a lot better than we do,” he said, speaking of the difficulty of competing with several other tourism-related businesses in the community.

Instead, by a 34-116 vote, residents defeated the article that would have allowed Meredith businesses to offer the game.

Opponents argued against it on moral and social grounds, questioning its benefits when weighed against the potential for gambling addictions and the types of clientele the game might attract.

“We’re obviously disappointed about the results of Town Meeting,” Harding said. “It seems like everybody in Laconia is doing very well with it.”

Fifty-five towns and cities in New Hampshire, including several in the Lakes Region, did agree to allow KENO 603, New Hampshire’s version of the game. Net proceeds of the game go toward the cost of providing full-day kindergarten, increasing the state’s per-pupil contribution from $1,800 per kindergarten student to $2,900 per student.

Since the game went live on Dec. 15, businesses offering keno have reported that sales increased between 15 and 20 percent.

Asked about the effect on Rooms and Meals Tax revenues, Carolyn Ward of the state Department of Revenue Administration said that is not public information.

Maura McCann of the state Lottery Commission said KENO 603 has posted $2.8 million in sales to date. Businesses offering the game keep 8 percent of the proceeds, along with bonuses for selling winning tickets of $10,000 or greater.

The average establishment records $700 per day in keno sales.

Only pouring establishments are allowed to offer the game because they already have policies in place to prevent those under 21 years old from having access.

One percent of the keno income is targeted to support research, prevention, intervention, and treatment for problem gamblers, with the rest, minus administrative costs, going toward full-time kindergarten.

Keno has been described as being a lot like bingo. People select from 80 numbers on a card similar to a bingo card, and a computer generates 20 random numbers to determine which ones are winners. Winnings depend in part upon how many numbers are bet.

Objections

“People at Town Meeting equated it with opium addiction, which is pretty insulting,” Harding said. “It’s more like bingo for your aunt and uncle.”

Moultonborough resident Christopher Shipp, in a letter to the editor, said he visited places in Laconia that offered the game, and it changed his mind about keno.

Shipp said people were placing small bets, contrary to the fears about creating gambling addictions, and they were spending more money on food and drinks.

“The fact is, the overwhelming majority of comments I received touted the positive repercussions of the introduction of keno,” he said. “The restaurants had all realized an increase in business due to both the sales of keno tickets and the associated increase in food and beverage sales, which in turn had a positive financial impact on the employees. None of my negative assumptions were confirmed.”

In addition to fears about the potential for gambling addictions, some opponents see the game as just not matching the character of their communities. Others argue that, since school districts will receive the kindergarten funding regardless of whether their towns offer keno, there’s no reason to take a chance in allowing it. The gambling proceeds bypass the town, going straight to the state, which then redistributes the funds to the school districts offering full-day kindergarten. With the state legislature going back on its commitment in other areas to divert money into the general fund, some fear that eventually will happen with the keno revenue.

Then there are those like Bill King of Meredith who said he opposes the use of gambling to pay for education. New Hampshire initiated its lottery as a way of funding public education.

“There’s no logical connection with kindergarten,” King said. “I’d like to see the state get rid of gambling.”

Keno votes

The city of Franklin was the first in the state to approve keno. Since then, the list of local communities offering the game has grown to include Laconia, Alton, Barnstead, Belmont, Center Harbor, Northfield, and Tilton.

Besides Meredith, voters in the towns of Bristol and Moultonborough chose not to allow keno in their communities.

“It would have helped our business,” Harding said of Lakeview Tavern, “and it would have generated some revenue. But the business is doing well, and we’re going into our second year on May 2.”

Lakeview will be participating in the upcoming Taste of the Lakes Region, and Harding said, “We’ve been building up our clientele, and we’ve been having a good time. It’s a tough business, and I do think keno would have helped out on the bottom line, and other businesses may have wanted to get into it.”

He said that, while his business is in competition with other restaurants in the area, “I feel like we almost have a different product.” It offers pool and Foosball, darts, and pinball, with sports on television and rock-and-roll music.

“When we first opened, we heard, ‘This is just what’s needed here.’ We like to play games, and keno would have fallen right into that. Other places you go for the food and drink and that’s it. We’re a little more fun.”