Representatives of the two local nonprofits who split a $2,500 Nashua Rotary Club donation hold up the replica checks during Thursday's celebration. From left are Maryse Wirbal, CEO of The Front Door Agency; Beth Covino, president of the Rotary Club; Nancy Goodwin, founder of Upbeat NH, and Kim Plummer, also from Upbeat NH. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

NASHUA – What a way to celebrate your 40th birthday.

While some may dread hitting the big 4-0, and others may be ambivolent, Lauren Osowski had good reason to celebrate hers: it earned her a $2,500 prize.

Osowski, who works at Nashua’s Adult Learning Center, chose her birthday – June 24 – as the day that Boston Billiards Club & Casino’s total charitable donations would hit the $10 million mark.

The guess-the-date contest added some fun in the weeks and days leading up to the big day, and culminated in the presentation of the giant replica $2,500 check to Osowski at Thursday evening’s celebration.

And thanks to the Rotary Club of Nashua, many members of which were on hand Thursday as part of their yearlong 100th anniversary observance, Osowski’s winning guess also gave her the opportunity to choose the local nonprofit to receive Rotary’s $2,500 donation.

Cheers erupt at Boston Billiards Club & Casino Thursday evening as president Kurt Mathias hoists a poster announcing the casino reaching the $10 million mark in charitable donations. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

Osowski chose two: Upbeat NH, a children’s music education program founded by Nancy Goodwin, and The Front Door Agency, which assists women and families in crisis with housing and other programs.

Thursday’s presentations were among the events that casino officials put together to celebrate the $10 million milestone, which comes four years and eight months after the casino opened in the Northeastern Boulevard business.

“When we added casnio gaming back in 2016, nobody was sure how it would work out,” Boston Billiard director of marketing Kevin McMahon said. “But it’s been very popular … definitely been a success.”

McMahon said that when the casino hit the $9 million mark earlier this year, “we decided we’d celebrate our $10 million milestone with a guess-the-date contest and a party.”

The casino operates under the state Lottery Commission’s charitable gaming regulations, which, among other guidelines, requires casinos to donate 35 percent of its proceeds to a local nonprofit.

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

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