As winter approaches, the brilliant leaves begin to fall from the trees, and the days begin to get cold.This is the time that many yearn for, ski season. The New Hampshire mountain areas are plentiful in ski resorts, hotels, and chalets that draw snow lovers to the slopes. New Hampshire has a rich history of downhill skiing. These days, the Granite State hosts some of the best ski areas in New England. Just a short drive up I-93 from Boston, central New Hampshire and the White Mountains offer a wide variety of terrain for all types of skiers and snow boarders. Here is a quick guide to three great ski resorts for a fun winter getaway.

Loon Mountain:

With three detachable quads, one four-passenger gondola and a combined total of twelve serviceable ski lifts, Loon Mountain Ski Resort sees more
visitors than any other resort in New Hampshire. While the mountain hosts a large number of skiers, is has more than enough terrain to disperse the crowds. At nearly 3,070 feet tall, Loon Mountain has over 50 trails with 324 acres of skiing terrain. This ski resort truly has something for everybody. The Loon Terrain Park offers freestyle jumps, slide rails and half pipes if the kids want to practice their tricks. There is a decent variety of beginner trails with names like Snubber, Little Sister and The Link. For the true beginners check out Sarsaparilla with its carpet lift. When it comes to experts, Loon is a real treat. On powder days, you might want to think twice about going to the office and head up to Loon Mountain instead. The entire North Peak offers superb expert trails with great vertical and a skier’s choice of mogul runs. Once you get to North Peak, stick to the North Peak Express Quad and you are sure to get enough runs under your belt to last you a long time. After a day of fun, be sure to visit the Common Man Restaurant in Lincoln for some wholesome food and a great apres ski atmosphere.

Waterville Valley:

Situated on Mount Tecumseh in the White Mountains, Waterville Valley Ski Resort offers an astounding 2,020 foot vertical drop. If you are looking for long runs and you don’t mind a decent incline, then Waterville is the mountain for you. While the surrounding town is quieter than Loon, the mountain generally has fewer skiers clogging up the excellent variety of trails. The valley run with its detachable quad offers a challenging day of fun for any beginner. With most trails classified as blue squares, intermediate skiers will have full range of the mountain. For the experts out there, the great vertical drop makes most of the intermediate runs quite enjoyable and on good powder days, the Sunnyside Lift offers access to some of the best expert terrain in the state.

Gunstock Ski Area:

Gunstock is a great choice for anybody who enjoys a relaxed mountain with great views. The Gunstock Ski Area is perched on the edge of Lake Winnipesaukee. With fantastic panoramic views of the lake, a decent variety of runs and more affordable tickets, Gunstock is a great choice for a quick day trip to hit the slopes. For anybody traveling with kids, the Gunstock Ski School is one of the best in the business. If you live anywhere near this mountain be sure to consider it if you want to get your kids ready for the bigger slopes. New Hampshire winters are long, and for those who don’t partake in winter activities, spring is highly anticipated. This season of rebirth, marked by budding flowers and the return of warm weather, is a most welcome time of year in New England.

The gambling scene in America can be traced back to centuries. Gambling has remained to be a part of the American dream life ever since the inception of lotteries in New Hampshire. The New England state of New Hampshire in the North Eastern corner of the United States is the only state that imposes neither sales tax nor income tax on its citizens. New Hampshire shares its border with the Canadian state of Quebec, and the American states of Massachusetts and Vermont. It also has part of its border on the Atlantic Ocean, although that part is a mere eighteen miles long.

Being one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against English rule and sparking off the American Revolution, New Hampshire is steeped in history that entices many history buffs and antique hunters to visit it yearly. It was the first state to declare its independence. New Hampshire is today like a cottage state, and then as now, wealthy people chose to make their homes there, and to enjoy the beautiful scenery strict environmental laws have been put in place and enforced to keep New Hampshire the beautiful state it is.

To say that life is good for the one point three million citizens of New Hampshire would be fair, with the sixth highest income per capita in all of the United States. It would be almost paradise apart from one major fly in the ointment. There is almost no form of gambling available in New Hampshire. Live horse racing is permitted with on track betting only that is heavily patronized by the residents of New Hampshire. Also a fairly active and popular state lottery is run. People who live in New Hampshire have money in their pockets and like most other Americans they like to gamble, so what do they do?

They either travel to nearby states such as New Jersey for their share of live casino gambling, mostly either slots of table gaming, or they, like tens of millions of others all over the World; have discovered the pleasure and convenience of online internet gambling. The gambling population of New Hampshire has discovered that playing on line is a big thrill, and every game that they want to play is there for them. From roulette to blackjack to craps, played in realistic 3d reality, to all the latest slot games, it[s the nearest thing you will get to live casino gaming and you need never get trapped in a traffic jam again. Nowadays with new computer technology that easily allows connecting your computer to your television, people who have high definition, 62” plasma screens can feel that they are actually in a casino.

There are rumblings in the New Hampshire state government that there is an opportunity that is being missed to bring in valuable tax income by easing legislation and to gradually introduce gambling into the state. The initial proposal is to allow video poker and possibly slots to be installed at the racetrack sites in New Hampshire. Hardly Las Vegas, but it’s a start. Even that development seems a long way off, so the tax dollars that could be earned are going somewhere else while casino owners and casino enthusiasts are missing each other in New Hampshire. If the state wants to make itself an even more attractive place for incoming tourism, then it should take a more enlightened view of live casino gambling in all its forms. It could be an excellent form of tax income, as well as providing jobs for the population who return to their New Hampshire residences in the summer months.