Lebanon
As the bartender handed her a stack of 40 tickets, the Lebanon resident quickly got to cracking them open, popping open the tabs that would reveal whether each ticket was a winner.
“That’s what you call a pile of losers,” Jones said, looking down at the pile of tickets a few minutes later.
But the losing streak didn’t deter Jones, who said she has been going to the Legion post for 12 years. She said she is at the club almost every day, and has claimed her share of winnings — ranging from $1 to more than $100.
The pull tabs which are popular at the Legion hall on Mechanic Street, help to cover Post 22’s operating expenses and fund its charitable efforts.
Now, some club members are looking to another game of chance to bolster revenue: keno.
Post 22 is helping to circulate a petition that could put a keno question on the city’s March ballot.
If the petition drive is successful, it would be up to city voters to determine whether the state’s newest gambling game would be allowed in Lebanon.
Organizers said the petition effort was a reaction to the Lebanon City Council’s decision earlier this month to keep the keno question off the ballot.
Councilors voted, 7-2, to prevent a citywide keno vote in March. Opponents of the game said they wanted no part in expanded gambling or the societal problems that can stem from it.
But members of Post 22 argue the question should be left up to the voters, and that if it’s allowed, the revenue from the game could benefit the city.
“I just think it’s important to allow the taxpayers the opportunity to vote on it,” Travis Bill, who oversees the Legion’s business operations, said on Sunday.
Bill, a Canaan resident who owns property in Lebanon, said he isn’t a “huge gambler” and doesn’t care a great deal whether keno ultimately is approved in the city.
What is important, he said, is that voters have the right to say “yes or no” at the polls.
Post 22 members also have said that prof its from the game could help fund important initiatives, such as its annual baseball program.
Keno is played through self-service machines in participating bars or restaurants with a liquor license. Players pay a minimum of $1 per card and pick anywhere from one to 12 numbers out of 80. Drawings are held every 5 minutes, and the winning numbers are displayed on a monitor. Players when if the guess the numbers drawn.
Under the state law establishing keno, participating businesses pay a $500 annual licensing fee to offer the game, and in turn are allowed to keep 8 percent of the proceeds.
The majority of revenue is earmarked to contribute to New Hampshire’s full-day kindergarten program, with an estimated $8.4 million projected to go into an education trust fund in the first year.
“It would be a win-win for everybody,” Bill said.
In Lebanon, the ballot measure needed to allow keno in the city traditionally would be put forward by the City Council. Legion members and other residents are taking a different route after the council vote, however, and are making use of a rule that allows 5 percent of register voters to petition for a ballot initiative. Signatures are being collected both at Post 22 and Lebanon Elks Club.
Organizers need to submit 420 valid signatures by Wednesday to make their goal, according to City Clerk Sandi Allard.
Although she voted against putting keno on the ballot, Mayor Sue Prentiss praised the effort on Sunday, saying petition drives are an important part of democracy.
Prentiss said her vote was determined in part by feedback she received from residents who called her to argue against the game. She didn’t hear from any residents who supported allowing keno.
“I support their effort. Good for them,” Prentiss said.
City Councilor Clifton Below, who was perhaps the most outspoken opponent of keno, was largely noncommittal when asked about the petition on Sunday.
“It certainly is their prerogative under the keno statute to get the keno question on the ballot by citizen initiative if they get enough support,” he said in an email.
During two City Council meetings, Below argued passionately that keno could contribute to problem gambling in the area, disproportionately affecting low-income residents and senior citizens.
He also questioned whether the state would fully contribute to addiction prevention and treatment programs for problem gamblers.
But keno supporters point out that gambling is already a common occurrence in Lebanon, where people can play the lottery at convenience stores and participate in games of chance at nonprofit clubs.
A convenience store in West Lebanon boasts some of the highest lottery ticket sales outside of Manchester, Charlie McIntyre, executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery, said during a council meeting in October.
Both Post 22 and the Elks offer Lucky 7, the pull tab card game Jones was playing at the Legion hall on Sunday.
Lucky 7 tickets cost 50 cents apiece and require the player to open windows on the backside of a ticket to reveal a combination of symbols.
If those symbols match a winning combination on the front of the card, players can win anywhere between $1 and $250.
River Rat, the version played at Post 22, is sold to the club in a pack of 2,880 tickets. Of those, 168 are “winners” that pay out a total of $1,090. That leaves the Legion with a profit of $350 per pack of tickets before fees and taxes, which go to the state Racing and Charitable Gaming Commission.
The club also offers an electronic version of the game played on monitors for 50 cents a turn.
In 2016, Post 22 made a net profit of $221,504 from gaming activities, according to the nonprofit’s Form 990. By comparison, the club netted $107,373 through other fundraising efforts that year.
The state reported generating nearly $1 million in revenue off of Lucky 7 in its 2015 annual report, the latest available online.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.