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The House has decided not to reconsider the two-casino proposal it rejected by a single vote at last week’s session.

This morning, 172 House members voted to bring the bill up again, while 192 voted against.

The measure, approved by the state Senate, would legalize two casinos sharing a total of 5,000 video slot machines and 240 table games. It also includes $25 million dollars in aid to towns, which supporters said would provide property tax relief.

The House has consistently rejected efforts to legalize casino gambling. It voted down a bill to legalize a single casino a month ago before rejecting this measure.

With only a single vote breaking the tie on the casino bill last week, there’s been a lot of lobbying before the issue goes before the House again tomorrow.

Lawmakers from both parties are asking their House colleagues to switch alliances on legislation that could mean the difference between two multi-million-dollar casinos being built in New Hampshire or none at all. The bill also proposes 5,000 video slot machines and 240 table games between the two locations.

If Senate Bill 366 is approved in a reconsideration vote and signed into law by Gov. Maggie Hassan, many Southern New Hampshire residents hope one of the entertainment venues would be established at Rockingham Park in Salem.

They hope a casino would create hundreds of local jobs and generate millions of dollars in annual revenue for the state and surrounding communities.

But several local lawmakers who voted to kill the bill said they don’t plan to change their vote. Several amendments are expected to be presented that could affect the vote’s outcome, including a medical marijuana proposal.

Two of the four Southern New Hampshire members of the House who didn’t vote last week defended their reasons for not being present. The vote was 173-172 to kill the legislation. Forty-two House members did not cast votes.

Rep. Jeffrey Oligny, R-Plaistow, said his job as an engineer for a defense contractor prevented him from voting in Concord on April 30.

He said his job, which requires a lot of travel, also prevented him from voting on another casino bill, House Bill 1633, in March. The House killed that bill, 173-144.

Oligny, who said he supports expanded gaming, agreed his vote could have made a difference last week if he were present. But he won’t be voting tomorrow either.

“I’m one of the ones who, if I was there, I would have voted for it,” he said. “Given that, I’m not retired and I’m not wealthy.”

Hong Kong stocks rose, with the benchmark index advancing from a one-month low, as gains at phone companies offset a slump by casino operators.

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., the nation’s no. 2 telecommunications company, rallied the most since October to lead gains on the Hang Seng Index. Sands China Ltd. fell 2.6 percent and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. sank 4.6 percent after analysts trimmed forecasts for growth in Macau gaming revenue this month. Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. climbed 7 percent after a surge in first-quarter earnings.

The Hang Seng Index added 1.5 percent to 22,453.89 at the close in Hong Kong, extending gains in the final 30 minutes of trading. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies, known as the H-share index, gained 1.2 percent to 9,882.94. China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8 percent, after the measure briefly fell below the 2,000 level, as speculation grew that the government will take steps to bolster the economy.

“The Chinese government has made it clear it will do what it takes to make sure the economy doesn’t slip too badly,” said Vasu Menon, vice president of wealth management at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “China risk is there but it has lessened quite significantly. The government has come through and shown it will act, so I’m less worried.”

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.2 percent. Major U.S. indexes recovered in the last hour of trading yesterday, paring losses sparked by the U.S. and European Union levying new sanctions against Russia.

The U.S. equities benchmark yesterday closed 0.3 percent higher, erasing losses of as much as 0.7 percent. Internet and smaller companies pulled back from a selloff amid optimism over merger activity. Pfizer Inc. added 4.2 percent after proposing to buy AstraZeneca Plc for about 58.8 billion pounds ($98.7 billion).

Mainland Shares

The Hang Seng Index (HSI) fell 3.7 percent this year while the H-share gauge lost 8.6 percent as mounting signs of a slowdown fueled speculation China won’t meet its official 7.5 percent target for economic expansion. The Hang Seng Index traded at 10.2 times estimated earnings yesterday, compared with 15.9 for the S&P 500.

Almost all Chinese provinces failed to meet their growth targets in the first quarter even after scaling back their ambitions as the government instructed officials to focus on reining in debt and curbing pollution.

Thirty of 31 provinces and municipalities reported missing their goals, with the biggest shortfall in northeastern Heilongjiang, where an expansion of 4.1 percent compared with an 8.5 percent target for the year. Most localities’ targets are lower than in 2013. The latest data were released by government websites and newspapers.

Stimulus Cut

In the U.S., the Federal Reserve will probably announce a fourth straight stimulus cut at the conclusion of a two-day meeting tomorrow, according to economists polled by Bloomberg.

Phone companies led gains among the 11 industry groups on the Hang Seng Composite Index. China Unicom climbed 6.4 percent to HK$11.24. China Mobile Ltd., the world’s biggest carrier, added 4.6 percent to HK$73.15.

Guangzhou Automobile advanced 7 percent to HK$8.14 as first-quarter net income soared 78 percent to 849.2 million yuan.

Sands China sank 2.6 percent to HK$57.90, Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. declined 4.6 percent to HK$86.80 and Galaxy Entertainment slid 4.6 percent to HK$62.30. Brokerages including Wells Fargo & Co. cut forecasts for April gaming revenue in Macau.

China Huishan Dairy Holdings Co. tumbled 9.8 percent to HK$1.65, its lowest-ever close. The maker of dairy products extended declines following last week’s share sale.

WHO ARE THEY: This Massachusetts-based hard rock quartet’s big break was due in part to the band’s run-in with Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst at a show in Hartford, Conn., in 1997, when Staind was slated to open for Limp Bizkit. Backstage before the show began, the volatile Durst got into a heated exchange with the members of Staind over the cover art of their self-released CD, but after witnessing their live performance he was impressed and exchanged phone numbers with the musicians. A major record label deal was soon to follow and the rest is rock history. Staind’s breakthrough album was 2002’s “Break the Cycle,” which featured the hit single, “It’s Been Awhile”. Three of the band’s five albums have entered the Billboard 200 Album Chart” at No. 1.
WHAT TO EXPECT: These hard rockers rode the post-grunge wave of success in the early 2000s and amassed a sizeable following in the process. Staind is known for putting on a heavy show filled with a good mixture of material from all of their albums. There is not much change in the setlists from night to night, however. In recent years, singer Aaron Lewis has toured as a solo artist while the band has been inactive, but the full band finally returned to the stage late last month. Though the band is known for its hit albums more than its hit singles, fans can definitely expect to hear the band’s biggest hit “It’s Been Awhile.”

MONTICELLO — SUNY Sullivan and Sullivan County BOCES are planning workforce-training programs to help meet the needs of casinos.

A big part of this will be helping applicants determine what casino-related jobs they're most suited for, and "where they fit in the new economy," college President Karin Hilgersom told the county's Casino Impacts Subcommittee Monday afternoon. She said some of the jobs casinos could create will be ones that require an associate's or even a bachelor's degree.

"We're confident we can meet the needs of the workforce as it changes through casinos and resorts," Hilgersom said.

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The state is expected to grant two casino licenses in the Catskills/Hudson Valley region; there are a dozen applications in the region, four of which are in Sullivan County.

Marc Baez, the head of the Sullivan County Partnership, updated the committee on the efforts to drum up vocal public support for the casinos — local support is part of the formula the state's going to look at. He said they are trying to get as many support letters as possible; soon, he said, they're going to start running radio ads as well.

Legislator Alan Sorenson, the chair of the subcommittee, also briefly touched on the issue of the Industrial Development Agency and tax abatements for casinos, saying the Legislature should discuss the issue soon. Sorenson has been skeptical of giving casinos tax abatements.

Billionaire real estate investor Neil Bluhm and Unite Here Local 1 have settled a series of charges over the union's drive to organize workers at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the state's most lucrative gambling hall.
Mr. Bluhm's Chicago-based company, Midwest Gaming & Entertainment LLC, which owns the casino near O'Hare International Airport, agreed to post notices at Rivers saying employees may choose to organize and join a union under federal law, according to a copy of the settlement.
The notices also say employees can choose not to participate in union efforts. Among other points, Midwest Gaming states in the notices it will not ask casino employees whether they support a union or threaten them with job loss if they do. The postings must remain up at the casino for 60 consecutive days, the settlement shows.
LAUNCHED DRIVE LAST YEAR
Best known for representing hotel workers, Chicago-based Local 1 launched a drive last year to unionize Rivers Casino, 3000 S. River Road. Rivers reported $418.7 in gross receipts in 2013, the most among the state's 10 casinos, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
Local 1 levied a series of unfair-labor-practice charges against Midwest Gaming as part of the drive, saying the casino's management was intimidating workers about joining the union.
The notices “will, basically, require the casino not to interfere with employees' right to organize,” a union spokeswoman said.
She declined to discuss the status of the organizing drive, including whether the group will file to create a union through an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board or through “card check.” Under card check, an employer agrees to recognize and negotiate with a union without an election if at least 50 percent of its employees sign cards saying they want to organize.
'RESPECTS THE RIGHTS'
Rivers Casino noted in a statement it admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement and that it takes “great pride in our team and respects the rights of our Team Members to choose whether or not to be represented by a union.”
“We feel strongly that all Team Members should be able to make their choices in an environment that is free of harassment and intimidation,” the statement said. “So far, our Team Members have chosen to remain independent. That is their choice and their right.”
Local 1 is trying to organize the majority of the casino's approximately 1,443 workers, including cooks, attendants and bartenders. Last October, parking attendants and valets at the casino voted 13 to 5 to reject joining the Teamsters union, according to a labor board filing.