Courtesy photo Home Health Hospice Care was the recipient of a nearly $67,000 donation from a Boston Billiards Club & Casino gaming night in April. The total donations the casino has presented to local nonprofits is nearing the $10 million mark. (Courtesy photo)

NASHUA – A “hefty prize” of $2,500 awaits the winner of a new contest now underway at Boston Billiard Club & Casino, one that has less to do with blackjack, poker, dice or Roulette wheels and more to do with pure chance – and, of course, a blessing from Lady Luck.

And even better, entering this contest couldn’t be easier: simply guess the date on which the casino hits the $10 million milestone in charitable donations since it opened in November 2016.

As an added bonus, the folks at the Rotary Club of Nashua will donate another $2,500 to a local nonprofit to be chosen by the winner of the contest.

To enter, go to www.bostonbilliardclubcasino.com/10m-countdown and scroll down to the entry form. The contest is free for New Hampshire residents. One entry per person.

“When we hit $9 million earlier this year, we decided we’d celebrate our $10 million milestone with a guess-the-date contest and a party,” Boston Billiard director of marketing Kevin McMahon said.

Courtesy photo Representatives of 2020 Vision Quest, including its president, Randy Pierce, center, received a donation of more than $70,000 from a Boston Billiards Club & Casino gaming night about a month ago. The organization funds two main charities, Future in Sight and the internationally renowned Guide Dogs for the Blind program. (Courtesy photo)

The contest has proven quite popular. “We’ve had several hundred (entries) so far … we hope to get several hundred more,” McMahon said.

“People’s guesses are all over the map,” he added.

Should there be more than one winner – that is, if it turns out that the date on which the total donations hit the $10 million mark was chosen by two or more people – McMahon said the club will hold a raffle of some type to choose the grand prize winner.

The contest is the latest component to be added to the numerous options available at the casino, which, along with the club itself, is open daily from 11:30 a.m. – 1 a.m.

“When we added casino gaming back in November 2016, nobody was sure how it would work out,” McMahon said. “But it’s been very popular … definitely been a success.”

After recently hitting $9 million, the "countdown to $10 million" thermometer at Boston Billiards Club & Casino is now edging toward the $10 million milestone.

Leaders of the numerous nonprofits that have benefited from the donations would wholeheartedly agree with McMahon’s assessment.

“Boston Billiard Club & Casino has been a tremendous partner to the Front Door Agency for several years,” agency CEO Maryse Wirbal said.

The casino, Wirbal added, has donated nearly a quarter million dollars to the agency since they became partners.

Those funds, Wirbal said, “help provide critical services to the most vulnerable people in our community.

“Funding from our partnership has provided affordable housing and educational opportunities to single mothers and their children,” she added.

Courtesy photo The patio and beer garden at Boston Billiards Club & Casino, 55 Northeastern Boulevard. The casino is coming up on the $10 million mark in charitable donations. (Courtesy photo)

The donations have also helped the agency fulfill the “critical funding” needed for the rent and utility program, which is aimed at preventing homelessness.

Similar to many such social services agencies, the Front Door has seen an increase “in the demand for our services,” a need that Wirbal said stems from the jump in housing costs in Nashua, along with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The casino donations, she added, “have been instrumental in helping us meet this increase in demand.”

Similarly, the United Way of Greater Nashua, which was among the first agencies to sign up to partner with Boston Billiard, has benefited significantly from the donations, which, by extension, have helped many of United Way’s member agencies, according to Mike Apfelberg, United Way president.

“A lot of the funds we receive are used in our grant writing process … Boston Billiard is good at bringing in the money, and we’re good at getting positive program outcomes,” he said of the process.

Courtesy photo A view from above shows Boston Billards Club & Casino's patio and beer garden. (Courtesy photo)

Not all UW member agencies receive casino funds, Apfelberg said, but for those that do, the funding enables them to identify, and meet, “the greatest needs in the community.”

As is the case with other registered charitable gaming organizations in New Hampshire, the state Lottery Commission’s Racing and Charitable Gaming Division oversees the operation.

According to the guidelines, Boston Billards donates 35 percent of its gaming proceeds to a nonprofit that’s licensed with the Lottery Commission.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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