Developer Regrouping After Election Loss

Sat, Nov 15, 2014

Former Providence, Rhode Island Mayor Joseph. R Paolino Jr. said he still wants to turn Newport Grand (l.) into an entertainment center, despite Newport voters' recent rejection of table games. The proposal passed statewide but a majority was required in both. Paolino's group said they'd invest $40 million in the project—if they could add table games.

On November 4, voters in Newport, Rhode Island rejected a proposal to add table games at Newport Grand, although statewide the ballot issue was approved. The measure needed a majority at both levels. The situation was similar two years ago, when statewide voters approved expanding Newport Grand into a full casino but local voters did not.

But, that has not deterred former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. from moving forward on developing Newport Grand, although he admitted now it will be more difficult for the casino to compete with others in the area. “I’m not a quitter and I want to see if we can create jobs and save the jobs that are there,” Paolino said.

Paolino and development partners Peter de Savary and Paul Roiff had said they would invest $40 million in Newport Grand to transform it into an entertainment complex, but only if table games could be added. As a result of the election, Paolino said he wants to “crunch the numbers” with Diane S. Hurley, the longtime owner of Newport Grand, to determine if the entertainment center concept could work without table games.

Concerned that Newport Grand could close, resulting in the loss of 200 jobs and $425,000 in annual gaming revenues for the city—down from $800,000 prior to the recession–Newport Mayor Harry Winthrop supported adding table games at the casino. In fact, he said his position is to blame for having “got swept out” in last week’s election; he lost his bid for a sixth two-year term on the Newport City Council.

Winthrop stated he’s glad Paolino still is interested in developing the property, although the city would not receive more gambling revenues from an entertainment center but it would receive additional real estate taxes from building upgrades. Also, he said, the project could keep and create jobs.

Dawn Euer, political director at Citizens Concerned About Casino Gambling, said, “It would be wonderful if they were to do something to invest in the property and be able to make it a successful business model. The problem we have, really, is with the table games.”