Twin River Management Group has begun forming up its legions to push state voters to approve of an initiative that would allow the company to build a million casino near the state line with Massachusetts, in Tiverton.
The legislature passed the enabling legislation last week and it was signed by Governor Raimondo. The goal is to allow the movement of Twin River’s Newport casino over to Tiverton. While this was going on Twin River formed a new non-profit called Citizens to Create Jobs and Protect Revenue Inc. This will run the actual election campaign.
The state’s Budget Office estimates that the state will rake in an additional $33 million a year by 2019 from the new casino once the Newport Grand is closed and the Tiverton casino opens.
Casino revenue is the third largest source of government income in the state. This will continue to be true even though the Tiverton casino will pay 15.5 percent of table revenues instead of 16 percent. The percentage of slots revenue paid to the state will remain the same. The new legislation also guarantees that Tiverton and the nearby town of Lincoln will each be paid $3 million a year.
In a related development, Twin River Casino in Lincoln will begin operating its upstairs poker tables every day, 24 hours a day beginning March 14. They now open at noon and close at 4 a.m. Players often wait in line for hours to get a seat the tables.
