Casino

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Governor McKee can do better. We hope he does.

By Rhode Island House Republicans | June 1, 2021 |

Legislation to offer a 20-year deal to Rhode Island’s casino operators inexplicably leaves hundreds of millions of dollars on the table, and RI House Republicans hope the governor vetoes the bill.

A page of the RI House GOP casino infographic

Give some thought to whom advocates are representing, whether government unions or House Republicans.

By Justin Katz | May 11, 2021 |

When you get one of the regular giant mailers from a cabal of government labor unions advocating for higher taxes, it’s pretty obvious what’s going on.  They want government to collect more money so they can arrange with elected officials to transfer more of it to them, with the promise that the unions will feed…

Open Thread: The Table Gaming Referenda

By Carroll Andrew Morse | October 22, 2012 |

1. STATE CONSTITUTIONAL APPROVAL – (APPROVAL OF AN ACT AUTHORIZING STATE-OPERATED CASINO GAMING AT TWIN RIVER IN THE TOWN OF LINCOLN) – (Section 22 of Article VI of the Constitution) Shall an act be approved which would authorize the facility known as “Twin River” in the town of Lincoln to add state-operated casino gaming, such…

Trillo’s Flawed Government Theory

By Justin Katz | January 10, 2012 |

I don’t relish the observation, but it seems to me that Rep. Joe Trillo (R, Warwick) is displaying an unhealthy political philosophy in his quest for a Quonset casino: “It would have to be bigger than Foxwoods, bigger than Mohegan Sun, otherwise it’s not going to work,” he said. “To just go with a regional…

Deval Patrick Signs Twin Rivers’ Death Warrant

By Patrick Laverty | November 22, 2011 |

Today, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill into law that will allow for up to three casinos in the Bay State. One of which that is being discussed is a full-blown destination resort casino run by an Indian tribe. The leading candidate for this casino seems to be the Wampanoags in southeastern Mass. They’re…

Lawsuit Against 2012 Casino Referendum: Do the Narragansett Have a Point?

By Monique Chartier | September 29, 2011 |

The ProJo’s Kathy Gregg reports. (All emphasis added.) In a lawsuit filed in Superior Court on Wednesday, the tribe contends the law calling for the referendum is both “unconstitutional and vague.” Why? The tribe hung its legal argument on the same requirement in the state Constitution that tripped up its first two efforts to get…

The Gamblin’ Regent

By Marc Comtois | February 8, 2011 |

The news is that Twin River is lobbying to be a full-fledged casino again (which really just means making the virtual table games real). But what caught my attention is who is helping to lead the charge: George Caruolo, Governor Chafee’s nominee to be the Chair of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary…

The Ghost of Election Day Past

By Carroll Andrew Morse | November 2, 2010 |

According to Elizabeth Crum at National Review Online’s election blog, a couple of names familiar to Rhode Island political-watchers are showing up in the Nevada Senate race, those names being “Harrah’s” and “Jan Jones”…Executives at the casino giant Harrah’s pushed company employees to vote early in an all-out effort to help the Harry Reid campaign,…

No Casino Referendum for Rhode Island. Place Your Bets on One for Mass.

By Monique Chartier | August 14, 2010 | Comments Off on No Casino Referendum for Rhode Island. Place Your Bets on One for Mass.

You may recall where Rhode Island’s had left off: the General Assembly had passed a referendum specific to Lincoln and Newport which the Gov had then vetoed, citing its excess of site specificity and its dearth of fiscal detail. While I strongly support voter referenda, and have spoken in favor of questions being put to…

ProJo Editors: Confused on Gambling

By Marc Comtois | June 30, 2010 |

Ian Donnis points to the ProJo editorial pushing for an override of the Governor’s veto of the most recent Casino ballot question and reminds us that, not so long ago, the ProJo was decidedly anti-casino. Ian puts the change in the ProJo’s stance towards gambling at around 2006 and some digging in the AR archives…