If a Nevada-based gaming company has its way, the salmon-and-tan-colored walls and cigarette-scented bingo room in Rockingham Park's grandstand are on the way out and 3,000 video lottery machines are on the way in.

That vision hinges on one major legislative change: the legalization of slot machines. Lawmakers have blocked such efforts in the past, and polls show that there is little popular support for the change. But with lawmakers set to determine the cost of an adequate education - a task that will likely send them in search of more money - slot machines could receive a different reception.

"If it weren't for education funding, at least in the House, there would be little chance of it passing," said Rep. Michael Marsh, a Greenland Democrat who sits on a subcommittee studying the possibility of legalizing gambling. "I think we all recognize that there's at least a strong possibility if not a probability that we've got to raise a lot of money. So everything's on the table."

Installing 3,000 slot machines at Salem's Rockingham Park would generate $403 million in its first year of operation, according to an analysis commissioned by the gaming company, Millennium Gaming. To hear those on the Millennium and park payrolls tell it, the machines would simultaneously revitalize the cash-strapped park and shore up the state's finances. Under a proposal drafted by Millennium, 40 percent of the net income from slot machines would go to the state. The proposal also outlines the possibility of 1,000 slot machines at each of the state's dog racing tracks in Hinsdale, Seabrook and Belmont.

If Massachusetts legalizes slot machines, that would cut into New Hampshire's profits. According to the analysis, the creation of Massachusetts slot machines could reduce Rockingham Park's slot machine profits by $67 million in the first year.

"Expanding gambling can be done in the New Hampshire way," said Rich Killion, a spokesman for Millennium and a New Hampshire communications consultant. "It's going to be seen as a positive benefit

by all." Millennium won an option to purchase the facility in August 2005, Killion said, and has hoped ever since for a change in state law.

Yesterday, about 10 lawmakers got a firsthand look at the facility Millennium hopes to restore. Rows of stables - which once housed thousands of thoroughbreds in season - stood empty and in need of a makeover. The park, once a prestigious racing ground, saw its last thoroughbred race about five years ago. Harness racing took over as the track's main use.

As racing became less profitable, park officials searched for other ways to raise money. Televisions showing simulcast races fill the grandstand. There are rooms for bingo and poker, which are allowed in New Hampshire if a share goes to charity. Playing host to expositions - a computer show and a motorcycle stunt show are on the calendar - helps keep the facility afloat.

For some lawmakers, yesterday's trip was their first to the park. They were feted with sandwiches and soup, and they boarded a white van for a tour of the facility's extensive grounds. The trip signaled a willingness on the part of lawmakers to consider the issue of slot machines.

"I feel it deserves the same examination that any revenue source would get," said Christine Hamm, a Hopkinton Democrat who is leading the group studying gambling, which is a subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee.

"I feel I should not be making judgments about stuff that I've never been to," added Hamm, who said she's undecided on the issue.

Lawmakers have few options when it comes to new revenue streams. Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, opposes an income or a sales tax, making those options all but impossible under his watch. In the past, Democrats have found that support for an income tax often comes at an electoral cost.

"My guess is they'll recommend additional state monies," Rep. William Butynski, a Hinsdale Democrat and member of the gambling subcommittee, said of lawmakers determining the cost of an adequate education. "At least, personally, I'd lean toward slot machines."

Among various moneymaking options, legalizing gambling "is the least unpopular," said Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. In a July poll, 22 percent of residents said they preferred gambling as a way to raise money. By contrast, 16 percent of those polled said they preferred an income tax and 15 percent named a sales tax. "Nobody wants anything," Smith said. "It's one of the reasons you don't see a lot of political leadership on this issue."

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