NH Public Broadcasting reports
Embattled casino owner Andy Sanborn has escalated his fight with the New Hampshire Lottery Commission and the Attorney General’s Office to the state Supreme Court. Sanborn has asked the court to determine whether the state acted unlawfully by preventing him from selling his business, Concord Casino.
The lawyers allege the state thwarted a sale by wrongfully revoking Sanborn’s license over allegations of pandemic fraud and denying Sanborn’s buyer his own license.
Sanborn needs that revocation reversed in order to sell the casino.
The commission revoked Concord Casino’s license in November, following a prolonged administrative fight. In new court filings, Sanborn’s attorneys argue that without that license, the business is worthless.
Sanborn’s legal team told the court that failing to sell will hurt not just Sanborn but also the state and charities, which receive some gaming revenue. The state puts its take toward public education.
“The public interest of this matter is beyond question,” Sanborn’s attorneys wrote.
The Attorney General’s Office, which represents the Lottery Commission, has not filed a response and did not return a request for comment Thursday. It’s likely the office, which first sought to revoke Sanborn’s license more than a year ago, will object.
At issue is the state’s allegation that Sanborn misled the federal government to get $844,000 in federal pandemic loans and then misappropriated the money, some of it on race cars. Sanborn has not been charged in that case but was arrested in October for alleged theft from a different pandemic assistance program.
https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025-01-02/sanborn-takes-casino-case-to-nh-supreme-court
