Case Studies

Case Study - coordinated transportation services
Client:  New Hampshire Transit Association

The Problem: Various state agencies, non-profits and public transit providers were all operating on their own, fighting for minimal state Dollars available and finding situations where they were duplicating efforts (different agencies picking up residents in the same neighborhood around the same time) at the same time that resources were wasted (vans sitting idle for periods of time).  Though various studies over the past 2 decades had recommended coordination of these services, turf battles between the Dept. of Transportation and Dept. of Health and Human Services, plus turf battles among other providers, limited these efforts to the studies, which quickly gathered dust on the shelves of state government.

The Fix: The Dupont Group initiated a meeting of the client with then Commissioner of Health & Human Services Nick Vailas, who immediately latched on to the idea of a coordinated transportation system.  At our urging he assigned a staff person to be the point person to head up a task for of stakeholders.  From that point The Dupont Group served to shepherd the process to prevent stalling of the effort to achieve coordinated, or brokered, transportation in New Hampshire.  We informed policy leaders at each step, gaining support for the step to follow.  That effort turned into the Governor’s Task Force on Community Transportation which issued a report, from which legislation resulted creating the Community Transportation Coordinating Council, responsible for selecting and overseeing Regional Transportation Coordinator (RTC) vendors.  The RTCs, or brokers, in each region will manage a call center to schedule and arrange rides through its network of providers, sign contracts with providers and funding agencies, and handle data collection, billing, and reporting functions.  The Dupont Group ensured that the client was well represented on the coordinating council.

Case Study - regulated charitable gaming
Client:  Hinsdale Greyhound Park / OTB

The Problem: When the “Texas Hold ‘em” craze swept into New Hampshire New Hampshire pari-mutuel racetracks were already facing increased competition from casinos operating in Connecticut, two facilities in Rhode Island and one in upstate New York with slot machines, and the emergence of internet wagering.  Card game operators, using a grey area in the state’s charitable gaming law, began hosting tournaments with buy-ins of several hundred Dollars.  The law at the time limited wagers to $2, but the tournaments ran on a points system.   The client saw that the state was not allowing his business to compete legally, while allowing grey-area gambling operations to flourish.  Yet he felt that if he participated in gambling activities that were not explicitly legal, he could put his own license at risk. In order to take advantage of the poker tournaments, the client felt the tournaments must be fully and clearly operating legally, otherwise his license as a racetrack was at risk. 

The Fix: First by approaching the state’s Pari-Mutuel Commission then working with the Commission and recruiting one of the operators, The Dupont Group spearheaded an effort to regulate operators and set parameters around the tournaments, thereby legitimizing and legalizing the events.  The Client subsequently was able to contract with an operator and host tournaments and other games 5 days a week, adding revenue to the facility through rent, food and beverage sales, and an introduction for new customers to his other products.  The State of New Hampshire realized revenue from a tax subsequently applied.