Rockingham Park in Salem recently added roulette wheels and craps tables to their Poker Room and that addition is really raking in the profits and benefiting local charities. The Poker Room opened around two years ago by area charitable organizations with poker and blackjack available for gamers. Now with the addition of roulette wheels and craps tables, the Poker Room has seen many more gamers in attendance.

The charitable organizations that opened the Poker Room have their members donate their time to operate the games. Because of this, the organizations receive 35% of the profits. Over $2.3 million has already been raised from the poker and blackjack games. Rockingham Park officials believe that over the next year the organization should raise more than $2 million because of the roulette wheels and craps tables.

Ed Callahan, the General Manager, has stated that the first day of roulette and craps was one of the group’s strongest days ever. Lynn Snierson, the director of communications and marketing for Rockingham Park stated: "Since we started it, it's been enormously popular. It's a win-win for the community. They're thrilled. This is money that is going directly into their coffers and filling holes in the budgets that otherwise isn't there."

There has also been a new law passed in the area that allows the wager limit for roulette to be $4 instead of $2. This is an even bigger incentive for players to come out to the Poker Room. The organization has seen about 500 people each day come to the Poker Room throughout the summer.

Several charities have benefited from the winnings of the Poker Room’s poker and blackjack tables, including The Boys and Girls club. With the new additions of roulette and craps these charities are looking forward to more help from the revenue.


- 2008-08-12