Concord Monitor- "Reps turn down plan for slots "

Lauren Dorgan reports on the second to last day of budget negotiating, and says that the House rejecting of gambling doesn't necessarily mean the Senate plan is dead:

House and Senate negotiators stopped work about 11 p.m. last night on the $11.5 billion, two-year budget, which they are supposed to finish by noon today. A number of issues large and small remained unresolved, including a proposed enrollment cap at the state's charter schools, the fate of union-prized seniority protection for state workers known as "bumping rights" and which of the state's district courts they would close.

Meanwhile, Sen. Lou D'Allesandro, the chief sponsor of the Senate-backed gambling plan, vowed that his fight was not over and said he would not vote for a budget that didn't include gambling.

"I'll be the last man standing," said D'Allesandro, a Manchester Democrat who's been pushing for expanded gambling for a decade. His plan would sell licenses for 5,000 slot machines at Salem's Rockingham Park, 2,000 at each of the state's dog tracks and 2,000 at two North Country slot parlors.