Andy Sanborn notched a legal victory after the New Hampshire Supreme Court temporarily reversed the revocation of his gaming license while reviewing his appeal.
This means that, for now, Sanborn’s license isn’t revoked but it remains suspended. Sanborn’s appeals address the NH Lottery Commission’s actions and their effect on the sale of his Concord Casino. One challenges the revocation of his gaming license and the other disputes the commission’s reasons for rejecting the sale.
On January 24, the Supreme Court ruled to accept the appeals, consolidate them and schedule a hearing for oral arguments. The court also ordered that, until the appeal is completed, his license revocation will remain suspended.
In the appeal, Sanborn’s attorneys wrote that the Lottery Commission and Attorney General attempted to “intimidate buyers, confuse buyers and delay a sale.”
The battle over the former state senator Sanborn’s gaming license and the sale of Concord Casino has been stuck in legal proceedings for more than a year. He claims that, without a gaming license, the casino is practically worthless to any potential buyers.
Judge Gregory Albert in November gave the lottery commission the green light to “move forward with the revocation” of Sanborn’s license after he received all the extensions he was entitled to and more through the administrative process to sell his Concord Casino with his gaming license intact.
The decision came following an unfavorable determination from the Lottery Commission regarding the sale agreement between Sanborn’s business Win Win Win, which operates Concord Casino, and a potential buyer on Oct 30. Last year, Sanborn was forced to sell his casino after a joint investigation between the NH Attorney General’s Office and the Lottery Commission determined that he fraudulently obtained and misused $844,000 in pandemic relief federal funds.
State investigators accused Sanborn of misrepresenting his business, Concord Casino, on the federal application. These funds were not meant for casinos.
— SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN/CONCORD MONITOR
