Like sharks in the water drawn to the smell of blood, gambling advocates are drawn to states facing multimillion-dollar budget deficits.

With New Hampshire projecting a budget shortfall of up to $300 million in the coming year, champions of gambling have been lining up to see if this will be the year they hit the jackpot.

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In our view, despite the momentary financial challenges facing the state, gambling remains a longshot. And we want to take this opportunity to reiterate The Herald’s long-standing opposition to gambling in the Granite State. We stand with our state’s police chiefs, religious leaders and civic groups who have quite clearly stated that gambling would take away far more than it would give to our state’s magnificent quality of life.

Residents in New Castle certainly knew this day would come, and they recognized that a resurrected Wentworth By the Sea Hotel could potentially house gaming activities sometime in the future. In fact, this was one of the recurring fears about restoring the architectural gem.

We are glad to report in today’s paper that Ocean Properties doesn’t see gambling as a good fit for the hotel, which seems to be doing a booming business as a high-end resort, spa and dining establishment. Of course, New Castle residents also protected themselves when the Wentworth was restored by passing an ordinance banning gambling in town. Gambling can’t come to the Wentworth unless New Castle residents want it there.

We expect that the local tracks, including the Seabrook Greyhound Park, will lobby hard for passage of video gambling. And we have heard rumblings that some major developers would love to see gaming in Hampton Beach. No doubt New Hampshire will be the site of heated efforts on behalf of gambling. But we expect that New Hampshire, like Maine in 2003, will recognize that a state usually does no better than an individual when it tries to solve its fiscal problems through games of chance.

Source: Portsmouth Herald