Concord Casino in New Hampshire isn't a big-time casino like those in Las Vegas, and its owner, Andy Sanborn, isn't a global monarch.  But Sanborn's legal problems, which include a new fraud accusation, and how they affect the casino have made for an interesting story.

 The police detained Sanborn, a former state senator, on Wednesday, October 16, on an allegation of stealing by fraud.  When he applied for Covid relief payments in 2020, he allegedly lied about the casino's gross receipts by about $1 million (£766,665/€920,500).  According to the New Hampshire Bulletin, this raised his grant limit by $188,474.  If found guilty, Sanborn could spend 7.5 to 15 years in prison.

 State Attorney General John Formella started a fraud probe in August, and this new charge is not related to that.  The inquiry says that Sanborn stole $844,000 in Covid funding.  He is said to have used that money to buy three sports cars: two Porsches and a Ferrari, which he gave to his wife, state lawmaker Laurie Sanborn.

 He also gave himself back rent for the casino, which is in a sports bar.  State law said that casinos could not get relief funding, but Sanborn lied about what kind of business it was and, it seemed, how much money it made.  There haven't been any charges brought in the first inquiry.  But Sanborn has now sued Formella's agency, saying that detectives took private papers without permission during their investigations.

 It's not clear how this new charge will affect the investigation that was already going on.

 The first fraud incident necessitated the selling of the casino.
 Last December, the state told Sanborn to close and sell Concord Casino after the first probe.  The state wanted to take away his gaming licence completely, but the original judge, Michael King, said no and instead set a deadline for the sale of June 30.  But there was a condition that the deadline may be moved to September 30 if an agreement was about to happen.

 Gregory Albert, the new judge, took up the case in June and gave it an extension until September.  Then, on September 22, Albert gave another fake extension using a legal loophole that was not very clear. This added around 50 days to the procedure.

 According to reports, Sanborn's team has found a buyer.  The buyer has passed the state lottery's suitability review, and the results have been transmitted to Formella's office.  There is no set deadline for that evaluation, and if the buyer is not judged to be eligible, the casino's licensing would be put on hold for two years.  That would make the casino, or what's left of it, almost useless.

 Both sides disagreed with Albert's ruling.
 The two parties have been more and more angry since the process began.  Each side says the other is purposely delaying.  Albert's decision didn't help.

 In the last week, both sides have filed papers that challenge the verdict.  Jessica King, the senior assistant attorney general, says it wasn't obvious, which is why the state thinks Sanborn's licensing has been suspended.  In response, Sanborn's lawyers have asked for a new hearing.

 According to the Bulletin, they wrote, "If the state had credibly assured the buyer or (Sanborn) that the (attorney-general's office) would finish its (suitability) review by a certain date, (Sanborn) would have welcomed a chance to gracefully end this case."  "But the (attorney-general's office) isn't being clear, and time is running out."

 It's hard to say how much longer Sanborn will have to sell the casino now that both sides have filed appeals.  Sanborn's latest accusation is another problem.  According to state law, a person or business that has been convicted of a felony cannot get a gaming licence for ten years.  It's not clear if the liability would also pass if the licence is being given to someone else.