The owner of South Shore Poker Club has withdrawn his application to convert the facility into a private club.
Paul Anastasio informed selectman Vice Chairman Matthew Moore shortly before the continued public hearing was to begin on Jan. 24 that he decided not to go forward with the application process.
“I was informed of the action this afternoon,” Moore told his colleagues just before the hearing was to be convened. “He (Anastasio) will be formally sending an email withdrawing his application.”
Moore said that Anastasio offered no reason for the withdrawal.
Selectmen unanimously voted to take no action on the private club license application.
Anastasio did not attend the hearing. In a statement, Anastasio’s attorney, Matthew Fogelman, said his client would not be moving forward with the private club and intends to run for a seat on the board of selectmen.
“Paul has decided to withdraw the application and move his electrical business out of that building and dissolve the charity poker entity all together,” Fogelman stated. “Paul is already a member of several non-profit organizations, being a disabled veteran. Paul is quite disappointed in the way he has been treated by the town these past couple of years. The only people suffering are the charities that benefited from charity poker. Now with the supposed issues raised with the building, it became pretty clear that the board was never going to grant Paul a license.”
Fogelman stated that Anastasio would be working to making the town more attractive to businesses.
“Paul is actually going to be running for a seat on the board of selectmen,” stated Fogelman. “He would like to see the town be more business-friendly and the education system improved; he has three kids in the school system.”
The hearing had been continued from Jan. 10 after some selectmen voiced concerns about the club’s nonprofit mission as well as the condition of the Maple Street building where the club is to be located.
Anastasio was seeking a private club license to establish a sports-themed club with dues-paying members at his former South Shore Poker Club on the top floor of 27 Maple St. The private club license would have allowed alcohol to be served and consumed on the premises.
For more, see the Jan. 27 Holbrook Sun.
Article source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/holbrook/news/x1870694508/South-Shore-Poker-Club-withdraws-application
