Andy Sanborn is seeking a second extension of the state’s Sept. 30 deadline to sell his casino, this time alleging the state is purposely delaying its required review of the buyer in order to thwart the sale.
The extension request could leave Sanborn’s casino in limbo for months.
Sanborn’s attorneys have asked that the deadline be set for 15 days after the state completes a suitability review and determine whether it will approve the new buyer for a license. That review could take months.
In a filing Thursday, Sanborn’s attorneys said Sanborn has a signed 75-page purchase and sale agreement with a buyer and intends to use some of the sale proceeds to pay off nearly $844,000 in federal pandemic loans the state alleges he lied to get and then spent fraudulently.
The purchases included two Porsche 987 Cayman S racers for himself and a Ferrari F430 challenge racer as a gift to his wife, Rep. Laurie Sanborn, according to the state.
It’s those fraud allegations that led the state to suspend Sanborn’s gaming license in December, finding him not suitable to be associated with gaming in New Hampshire; order his Concord Casino closed; and demand he sell the business by June.
Ahead of the June deadline, Sanborn’s attorneys persuaded the state official overseeing a sale to extend the deadline to Sept. 30 on similar allegations of unfair interference by the state that “scared off multiple buyers.”
To do so, attorneys Zachary Hafer and Adam Katz filed documents under seal that convinced the hearing officer that Sanborn had a serious buyer, over objections from the Attorney General’s Office, which alleged Sanborn was overstating the likelihood of a sale to buy more time.
Thursday’s filing indicates that New Hampshire Lottery Commission Executive Director Charlie McIntyre is also questioning the seriousness of the reported sale.
Thursday’s filing did not identify the buyer other than to say the person has extensive experience in the casino business outside the state. Sanborn’s attorneys declined to comment on the identity of the buyer, including whether the buyer is Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts. An assistant attorney general inadvertently named Full House Resorts as the buyer during a July hearing. The company has not returned the Bulletin’s messages.
The filing did not state the sale price.
The Attorney General’s Office, which has one team investigating Sanborn on the criminal fraud allegations and another handling the forced sale of the casino, said it is reviewing the filing and would “respond as appropriate in due course.”
The New Hampshire Lottery Commission could not be immediately reached for comment.
Thursday’s request comes as Sanborn’s attorneys are fighting the Attorney General’s Office’s criminal investigation of Sanborn in superior court.
In a lawsuit against Attorney General John Formella that is largely sealed, Sanborn’s legal team has argued the state collected and viewed materials it was not legally entitled to while executing a search warrant of Sanborn’s property. The Bulletin has filed a motion to unseal the case. The court docket indicates that Sanborn’s attorneys have separately requested to unseal the case.
The parties’ responses to the Bulletin’s motion indicate the Attorney General’s Office provided computers it seized from Sanborn to federal authorities in July. That is not entirely unexpected.
When Formella announced his fraud investigation against Sanborn a year ago, he said he was also referring the matter to the United States Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire, for possible charges. That office has declined to say whether it is investigating Sanborn or his casino.
Sanborn has not been charged.
In their filing, Sanborn’s attorneys provided a few details about the buyer’s plans and what they allege is the state’s attempt at “running the clock” and preventing a sale.
The buyer submitted charitable gaming applications with the New Hampshire Lottery Commission in July. The buyer intends to initially operate in Sanborn’s existing casino on Main Street in Concord and later build a casino elsewhere in the city.
The buyer intends to offer table games and slot-like historic horse racing, the bigger revenue generator, at both locations. The purchase and sale agreement makes clear that Sanborn would have no ongoing involvement with the casino, according to the filing.
“I did not know the seller prior to the commencement of the seller’s sale,” the buyer told lottery officials, according to the filing.
The buyer also wrote: “My goal continues to be steadfast in helping the Lottery remove a license holder who has tarnished the NH gaming industry. I would hope that we can continue to work together to help realize that goal with my long-term intent to expend significant capital, create a … gaming and entertainment venue in Concord, and provide outside charitable gaming and taxation contributions to the local community.”
The buyer will close a deal with Sanborn only if the New Hampshire Lottery Commission confirms it will approve the charitable gaming license. That “suitability” approval has always been critical to a sale because if Concord Casino is convicted as part of the fraud investigation, it could jeopardize a future owner’s ability to obtain a license.
Throughout July, the buyer and lottery officials stayed in close contact, during which the buyer “was given the impression the application was on track,” according to the filing. That changed in mid-August.
Less than 24 hours before the buyer was to meet with lottery officials in person, they sent the buyer a letter indicating for the first time that the suitability review could not be completed before the Sept. 30 deadline, according to the filing.
The letter cited gaps in the application despite earlier indications from lottery officials they had the initial information they needed, the filing said. The buyer responded by setting aside the historic horse racing license request and asking the state to confirm it had all it needed to complete a more basic suitability review.
In what Sanborn’s lawyers said was a tone of “borderline hostility,” McIntyre, the lottery’s executive director, questioned the seriousness of the pending sale, according to the filing.
In doing so, he was relying on “gossip,” the filing said. It did not elaborate on the nature of the alleged gossip.
Lottery officials told the buyer they would not conduct a suitability review until the sale “is serious in nature,” the filing said. In their filing, Sanborn’s attorneys cited concerns that lottery officials’ communications to the buyer “were meant to kill the sale.”
Three days later, on Aug. 31, the buyer provided lottery officials the signed purchase and sale agreement to convey the sale was serious.
Sanborn’s attorneys closed their request for an extension noting a year has passed since the state accused Sanborn of wrongdoing and attempted to revoke his gaming license. “This has gone on long enough,” they wrote.
This story was originally produced by the New Hampshire Bulletin, an independent local newsroom that allows NH Business Review and other outlets to republish its reporting.
