New Hampshire Supreme Court Gives Concord Casino Owner a Short-Term Victory

Posted on: January 27, 2025, 06:25h. 

Last updated on: January 27, 2025, 10:31h.

New Hampshire’s top court on Friday decided to reject — for now — the revocation of the license for the embattled Concord Casino. But the license remains suspended.

Andy Sanborn
Andy Sanborn, pictured above, has won a temporary legal victory. (Image: WMUR)

The Concord Monitor reported the new ruling will remain in place until the New Hampshire Supreme Court finishes its review of an appeal filed by casino co-owner Andy Sanborn.

Buyers Intimidated, Confused

In their appeal, Sanborn’s lawyers claim the New Hampshire Lottery Commission and Attorney General’s office tried to “intimidate buyers, confuse buyers, and delay a sale,” the Monitor reported.

Sanborn’s casino license was revoked in November. Administrative Law Judge Gregory Albert gave permission to the Lottery Commission to revoke the license for two years.

Over the past year, state officials ordered Sanborn to close and sell the casino, but state officials illegally kept Sanborn from selling the casino. Sanborn’s attorneys said. Officials have denied the accusations.

Last year, Administrative Law Judge Gregory Albert, who ruled against Sanborn, recognized it was reasonable to provide Sanborn another extension to sell the charitable casino.

The equities in this matter strongly favor an extension given the positive tax revenue and support of charitable organizations,” Albert said in November’s ruling, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.

Albert wanted the courts to decide many of the legal issues in the case. He said that he didn’t have authority to grant the extension. In addition, Albert said he wasn’t in a position to rule whether the Attorney General’s office or the Lottery Commission acted wrongly when allegedly not approving the new owner and giving them a license, the report added.

Sanborn is hurt financially by not being able to sell Concord Casino, the lawyers argue. The charities that benefit from the casino also will be hurt if Sanborn can’t sell the gaming venue.

For Sanborn to now sell the gaming property, the license needs to be put back into effect, according to Sanborn’s attorneys.

An entity called Bettor Investment Group recently attempted to purchase Concord Casino, according to the Monitor. Full House Resorts Inc., also was interested in acquiring the Concord Casino.

In 2023, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella launched an investigation on Sanborn, a former Republican state senator, and his wife, former Rep. Laurie Sanborn (R), for improper use of $844K in COVID relief loans. Andy Sanborn spent about $182K of the money to purchase two Porsches and a Ferrari, one of which was given to his wife (a casino co-owner), officials claim. Sanborn wasn’t charged for that issue.

Criminal Charge is Pending

In October, Sanborn was arrested for fraudulent use of aid given to small businesses during the pandemic. He allegedly inflated the casino’s gross receipts by about $1M, which allowed him to receive an additional $188K from the government fund.

On Thursday, Andy Sanborn appeared in Merrimack County Superior Court on the criminal charge.