“A great place to live and visit, New Hampshire is unparalleled in it’s beauty, peacefulness and overall quality of life.

Low taxes, fine schools, quiet safe neighborhoods, solid hard working people and a feeling of New England pride found no where else in this country.”

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFE

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFE

What does everyone see here?

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFE I will try not to bury you with dizzying

NUMBERS, NUMBERS, and MORE NUMBERS

PROJECTIONS SPECULATION GUESSWORK

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Would anyone argue that NH is consistently THE BEST STATE in the country with regard to QUALITY OF LIFE?

In 2007, Hanover was voted #2 in the country and Salem #85 out of thousands of choices for Best Places to Live in America by Money Magazine.

Nashua/Manchester was voted #1 in 1987 and 1997

The ‘Quality of Life’ requirements listed ‘LOW CRIME’ as the number one contributor to ‘Quality of Life’

Guess which state ranked 50th as the ‘Most Dangerous State’

Guess who has ranked 1st for the last five straight years?*see handout - Crime State 2008_Most Dangerous

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFELet’s start with some ‘FACTS’

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFELet’s start with some ‘FACTS’

“The hospitality industry in New Hampshire is vital to our state’s economy. New Hampshire travelers spent $4.4 billion in our restaurants, hotels, B&Bs, attractions and events in 2008. These travelers were greeted by just under 70,000 ambassadors employed in the hospitality industry throughout New Hampshire. As the second-largest employer in the state, hospitality is more than just an industry it is a culture and a part of the New Hampshire way of life.”

   John H. Lynch Governor

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFELet’s start with some ‘FACTS’ The Lodging and Restaurant Industry will contribute

over $225,000,000 in taxes through rooms and meals tax and has grown every single year over the past 10 years.

When you add in: BET, BPT, Beer Tax, Electric Consumption Tax, I&D tax, Communications Service Tax….our industry accounts for over 20% of all taxes collected by the State of New Hampshire.

The Hospitality Industry has a proven history of providing significant revenue to the State of NH…The Millennium projections are WAY too high and cannot be trusted.

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFELet’s start with some ‘FACTS’

$0

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NY NM ME WV DE RI IA PA NH*

Winnings Per Day per VLT

* Forecast WPD data from Millennium Gaming

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFEConvenience Casinos WILL NOT….

Create Jobs…I believe it will steal them from hospitality and retail industries…there will be a zero net gain of jobs ONCE construction is completed.

Play Fair… in their pricing of food and liquor. They will discount their prices creating an UNFAIR advantage. http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6380110

Attract visitors or tourists further than 45 minutes away. It will attract those who live and work in our communities and drain their discretionary dollars at the slot machine.

*see handout – No Tourism Benefit

Add to the Quality of Life in New Hampshire. Governor Lynch has said he wants:

"clear evidence that the expansion of gambling would not negatively impact New Hampshire's high quality of life."

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFEConvenience Casinos WILL:

Expand and not be limited to Rockingham Park once the door is opened.

Hurt the Hospitality Industry and our local NH economy by draining discretionary spending.

*See handout - Impact on Hospitality

Ask for more and more just like Bill Paulos of Cannery (Millennium principle) did in Pennsylvania*

*See handout - Bill Paulos, Principal, Cannery Casino Resorts-testimony

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFELet’s talk BRANDING for a moment…

When you think of Vermont, what do you think of?

Mountains, Skiing, Hiking ….

What about Massachusetts?

Faneuil Hall The Berkshires

What about Connecticut?

IS THAT THE IMAGE WE WANT TO PORTRAY TO OUR NH TOURISTS?

AND SLOT M

ACHINES??

One of these things is not like the other….

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFEMore about BRANDING…

Let’s look a little closer to home…

All of our properties have a ‘BRAND’ that we not only protect, but we want our customers to know and love…

Faced with adversity and tough times/choices, do we turn our brand upside down?

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFEMore about BRANDING…

For example:

If Faced with declining sales, would the marketing folks try to go after prospects they’re not yet getting?...

Children and families for example…

What if the marketing team suggests hiring a clown to entertain nightly…

“…a unique urban bistro,

wine and jazz bar. We are dedicated to providing a

memorable dining experience ...”

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFEMore about BRANDING…

Michael would laugh and kick his marketing team right out of the office at the mention of bringing in a Clown to attract families to his fine establishment….

But that’s EXACTLY what bringing Convenience Casino Gambling to NH would be doing…Turning the NH BRAND upside down

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFE Tom Boucher – CEO/Owner – Great NH Restaurants, Inc. Bedford Past Chairman NHLRA 2005

Betty Falton – Owner - The Glen, Pittsburgh Past Chairwoman NHLRA 2000

Dicky Desai, Owner Hillbrook Motel, Bedford Past Chairman NHLRA 2007

Moe Mozier, Owner Re/Max Town & Country, Keene Past Chairman NHLRA 1986

John Tinios – Owner – Galley Hatch & Pop-Overs, Portsmouth Past Chairman NHLRA 1994

Terry O-Brien – Owner – Red Parka Steakhouse & Pub, Glen Past Chairwoman NHLRA 1992

Dewey Mark - Owner – Red Parka Steakhouse & Pub, Glen Past Chairman NHLRA 1980

Carl Lindblade - Hospitality Management at UNH-Durham Past Chairman NHLRA 1991

Sean O’Kane - Past Chairman NHLRA 2004 (former Commissioner of the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development)

Eric Roberts – Owner – Lui Lui, Nashua Past Board Member & Member since 1999

Allan Beetle – Owner – Patrick’s Pub & Eatery, Gilford Past Board Member & Member since 1999

Chris McDonough – Owner – McDonough Family Restaurants, Manchester Past Board Member & Member 1992

Shari Young - General Manager - Sheraton Harborside, Portsmouth Past Board Member & Member since 1988

“The following NHLRA Past Chairs and Board Members have signed on to

OPPOSE any Expansion of

Gambling”

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFE

“I must do something” always solves more problems than

“Something must be done"

-Author Unknown

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFEWhat should NH do?

Decrease Spending First: We’ve all had to do this in our businesses (and our home budgets) last year and likely all of this year and beyond.

No new taxes: Not far behind the importance of NH being the lowest crime State, is it’s tax friendly environment of no sales and no income tax. This must remain intact.

Increase Tourism Budget: Recognizing that this does not contradict the first bullet because this is spending that creates a true return on investment in growing state revenue. Invest in the industry who is delivering 20% of the State’s revenue.

PROTECT OUR NH QUALITY OF LIFE