Laurie and Andy Sanborn own The Draft Sports Bar and Grill and Concord Casino located on South Main Street in Concord, New Hampshire. (Photo by Geoff Forester, Concord Monitor)
The sale of Concord Casino is moving forward after an administrative judge ruled that the Attorney General does not have the authority to dictate the sale agreement terms between operator Andy Sanborn and the buyer.
In a decision issued on Friday, Judge Gregory Albert clarified that the Attorney General’s role is limited to acting as counsel and assessing the buyer’s suitability for charitable gaming.
The recent hearings between the Lottery Commission and Sanborn’s legal team left ambiguity regarding the Attorney General’s power to make line edits to the sale agreement. But, the Lottery Commission had warned the prospective buyer that the Attorney General might raise concerns about certain terms.
Judge Albert sided with Sanborn’s Win Win Win LLC, the owner of Concord Casino, affirming that the Department of Justice lacks the “statutory or administrative power to dictate the terms of a private sale.” Sanborn’s legal team argued that this uncertainty had stalled the sale process.
One certain sale term is that Sanborn cannot retain a controlling stake in the company. During a June hearing, Attorney Mark Dell’Orfano, representing the Commission suggested a threshold of 10% ownership for Sanborn to avoid suitability issues for the buyer. The suitability review includes an examination of financial statements, a criminal background check, bankruptcy filings, and more.
Documents obtained by the Monitor through a right-to-know request reveal that Concord Casino has drawn interest from multiple buyers, with Sanborn’s attorneys noting “over fifty suitors.”
Currently, there are four potential buyers in the mix. One of them is Full House Resorts Inc., a Las Vegas-based publicly traded company that operates seven casinos in Illinois, Mississippi, Indiana, Nevada, and Colorado.
The entire process surrounding the sale has sparked significant confusion.
Questions have arisen about whether there was sufficient evidence to warrant an extension for Sanborn, the true meaning of “sale pending,” and the potential liability of the new buyer if Sanborn is found guilty of pandemic relief fund fraud.
This is the first time the Lottery Commission has had to navigate the complexities of a potential license revocation.
Sanborn found himself embroiled in a legal battle with the Lottery Commission after a joint investigation by the Attorney General and the Commission in August revealed he had fraudulently applied for and misused $844,000 in pandemic relief funds intended for struggling small businesses, not casinos.
In December, a ruling ordered the shutdown and sale of Concord Casino, declaring Sanborn “unsuitable” for charitable gaming.
Sanborn’s gaming license is currently suspended until Sept. 30, and if he fails to sell the business by that deadline, he will face a two-year license revocation.
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