Casino gets OK at former Sears at Pheasant Lane Mall
Sep. 11—The owners of the former Sears store at the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua got the OK last week to use the space as a casino featuring two floors of historic horse racing machines, table games and three restaurants.
The proposal stirred up opposition based on anticipated increases in traffic and need for police coverage. The size of the project also worried at least one planning board member.
After a public hearing that lasted several hours, the board voted 4-1 to approve the plans.
City Engineer Dan Hudson said the space and location are ideal, given its proximity to the F.E. Everett Turnpike.
"I believe the good outweighs the bad," he said last Thursday night.
EC NH Real Estate Holding, Inc. bought the former Sears anchor spot for $11.5 million in November, according to the Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds.
ECL Entertainment and Clairvest, a Toronto-based private equity firm, bought the Lucky Moose Casino and Tavern and The River Casino & Sports Bar, both in Nashua, to enable them to eventually open a "leading gaming operation in Southern New Hampshire."
The mall has Dick's Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Target and Macy's as anchors. The Sears store, which opened in 1986, closed in 2020.
Three representatives from the Gate City Casino (formerly the Boston Billiards Club) on Northeastern Boulevard made comments about security, traffic and police jurisdiction.
Morgan Hollis, an attorney for ECL, shrugged them off as another business worried about competition.
Alderman Patricia Klee voted against the project, saying she worried about police jurisdiction, especially with the Tyngsborough, Mass., town line steps away.
"You are going to be staying later. People will be drinking more and we all know people make mistakes if they've been drinking too much or angry over something that happens," she said. "That's not going to be the same experience someone is going to get from retail."
Hollis said the facility would not be a "criminal generator." The facility would have security staff and hundreds of cameras.
Some local support
Stefan Hausberger, second-generation owner of Zimmermanns ski shop adjacent to the mall on the Daniel Webster Highway, said he has seen business on the highway grow over the years and offered support for the project.
"Retail has had its challenges pre-pandemic and now post-pandemic," he said. "I think having a casino in a mall is outside-the-box thinking. I do in the end believe it will be a shot in the arm to the Daniel Webster Highway retail and restaurants."
ECL acquired NHCG, LLC and The River Property & Hospitality Group, LLC, which are grandfathered operations in the state. The license to operate runs with the LLC, according to NH Lottery.
NHCG launched historic horse racing in October 2022 with 65 machines at the Lucky Moose Casino and Tavern.
Historic horse racing games look and operate similar to other gaming machines, but players pick winners of randomly selected horse races that have already been run.
In all, there will be 1,200 historic horse racing machines and 62 table games at the mall casino, according to the plans. Another 300 machines could be added in the future.
Part of 150,000-square-foot space will be leased to other businesses.
Hollis said ECL owns 1,000 parking spaces and has access to many more at the mall. ECL will have to get approvals for all its outdoor signs.
The company operates four gaming halls in Kentucky. The principals have connections to more than 30 gaming facilities, Hollis said. "They are not new to the operations of gaming facilities," Hollis said.
