(Courtesy photo) A wide-angle view of Boston Billiard Club & Casino's outdoor dining area is centerpieced by its new "Container Bar," which opened earlier this year.

NASHUA – Describing the move as a “bittersweet decision,” longtime Boston Billiard Club & Casino (BBC) owners Kurt and Susan Mathias are in the process of selling the popular venue to Delaware North, the Buffalo-based entertainment, casino and hospitality operation that counts among its properties the TD Garden and the Boston Bruins.

Brian Hansberry, president of charitable gaming for Delaware North, said that the parties are working out the details of the transaction, which is also pending approval by the New Hampshire Lottery Commission.

The terms of the purchase agreement are not being disclosed, Hansberry added.

The success of BBC’s charitable gaming operation – it has raised nearly $15 million for a variety of local charities and social services agencies in less than six years – plus state lawmakers’ passage last year of legislation that allows historical horse racing gaming machines at licensed venues sparked Delaware North’s interest in acquiring BBC, Hansberry said.

“Kurt and Susan Mathias have nurtured a very popular gaming destination,” he said, and now that the legislature has given charitable gaming venues the OK to bring in historical horse racing (HHR) machines, “we think the addition of this increasingly popular type of gaming machine can take BBC to the next level, while increasing the benefit for charitable organizations,” Hansberry said.

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

(HHR gaming machines look and operate much like other gaming machines, but instead of randomizing the outcome of a play, they determine winners based on previously-run horse races).

As for BBC’s current employees, which number roughly 200 in all, Delaware North intends to “preserve existing staff positions” while “adding at least 10 new jobs at the venue.”

Once the sale becomes official, Delaware North plans to install 300 HHR machines in spaces currently occupied by its 21 billiard tables, Hansberry said, adding that the company is in the process of developing a long-term plan for the tables.

In a letter to the organizations that have, or are scheduled to, partner with BCC to receive 35 percent of the club’s proceeds, Hansberry said agency representatives will continue to work with their existing BBC contacts.

In the meantime, Delaware North “will bring in an experienced team and resources to support all ongoing efforts in Nashua,” he added.

(Telegraph file photo by DEAN SHALHOUP) Cheers erupt at Boston Billiards Club & Casino in July 2021, as owner and president Kurt Mathias hoists a poster announcing the casino reaching the $10 million mark in charitable donations.

Kurt and Susan Mathias opened BBC, at 55 Northeastern Boulevard, in 2000, and have owned and operated it for all 22 years.

Currently, the 23,000-square-foot building houses 17 table games, including roulette and Spanish 21, while its 20 poker tables feature various forms of the game.

The casino also has a restaurant and sports bar, and includes private event spaces. It also features an outdoor beer garden with fire pits and space for cornhole and other outdoor games.

Its most recent addition is an outside bar fashioned from a shipping container – a popular amenity that debuted several years ago in the South.

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About Delaware North

Delaware North’s gaming business includes owning and operating casinos and other gaming venues in New York, West Virginia, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Arkansas and Arizona as well as in Darwin, Australia.

The company also operates retail and mobile sports betting in Arkansas and West Virginia, and later this year is completing a $320 million expansion of Southland Casino Hotel in Arkansas.

The company has venues in four continents, which are described as high-profile sports venues, airports, national and state parks, restaurants, resorts, hotels, and casinos.

Kurt Mathias, meanwhile, said he and his wife entered the sales agreement with Delaware North “after 22 years of operating Boston Billiard Club & Casino.

“Although we have made a bittersweet decision, we did so knowing that Delaware North is a family-run operation like ours and holds the same core values,” he said.

“We are turning our 200-plus team members and friends over to a great company that will continue to provide the best charitable gaming facility in New Hampshire.

“Sue and I want to thank our dedicated employees, past and present, and the Greater Nashua community for their business, support and friendship over the last 22 years.”

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

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