Casino

From Tax to Entitlement

By Justin Katz | April 27, 2010 |

Sal Capaldo, of Attleboro Falls, has an interesting idea and suggestion: For those politicians who have walked through Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun on any weekday, they would have observed folks mindlessly sitting at slot machines waiting for a financial score that never comes. The folks filling these venues are regularly found buying cigarettes, playing Mega-bucks,…

Viva Rhode Island?

By Marc Comtois | November 18, 2009 |

I’ve traveled all around the world, but one of the places I’d never been was Las Vegas. Until last week, that is. With the current recession, Las Vegas is offering several deals to get bodies into the casinos. With my wife and I looking for an economical getaway to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary, Vegas…

Addicted to Gambling

By Justin Katz | November 9, 2009 |

It would go too far to suggest that my position on casinos is evolving, but one could fairly say that my balance of the civic and the moral is shifting a bit. Maura Casey explains the following in a piece that calls on “the moral leadership of the country” to do something about the proliferation…

Gambling to be Murphy’s Swan Song?

By Marc Comtois | October 1, 2009 |

Current RI House Speaker William Murphy announced his retirement and it sounds like he’d like to get gambling done before he exits the stage (via 7 to 7): A day after confirming his plans to leave the rostrum after next year, House Speaker William J. Murphy is saying the General Assembly needs to “revisit” casino…

When All Else Fails, More Gambling…Until That Fails

By Marc Comtois | May 6, 2009 |

Revenue is down $100 million from what was projected. Twin River is in serious trouble, putting another $248 million in revenue for the state at risk. Faced with this, there has been renewed interest by the legislature to ask Rhode Island voters to allow casino gambling–again. It’s all too predictable. Back in July 2005 I…

Suddenly, the Casino Rears its Ugly Head Again

By Monique Chartier | January 24, 2009 |

I didn’t support a full fledged casino when proposed with the facade of ownership by the Narragansett, for whom it is difficult not to have some sympathy. Why would I support it when 100% of the post-operator revenue would go to a government that, through the politically motivated actions of its elected officials, has been…

Less Stable than Expected and Morally Bankrupt

By Justin Katz | January 14, 2009 |

Well, it appears that the house doesn’t always win: The Mohegan Sun casino is slashing the salaries of its nearly 10,000 employees, after seeing slot revenues drop last year for the first time since it opened 13 years ago. In a statement, the casino said top executives will lose 10 percent of their wages; middle…

Protecting the State’s Gambling Investment

By Carroll Andrew Morse | July 8, 2008 |

ChasWalker has a good post up at RI Future, adding some color to the new procedures implemented by the state for protecting the nightly haul from Twin River, in the event of the casino operator suddenly declaring bankruptcy. Based on ChasWalker’s parameters and using special pre-cognitive predictive software just installed on my computer, I’ve run…

Gambling Revenue Counteroffer?

By Carroll Andrew Morse | June 13, 2008 |

Robert Walsh‘s controversial proposal to permanently dedicate a portion of Rhode Island’s gambling system to the state pension fund makes the lede of the Katherine Gregg/Paul Grimaldi article in today’s Projo even more eye-catching than it would normally be…The owners of Twin River are offering the state upward of $500 million up front in return…

Patrick Kennedy, National Casino Advocate

By Carroll Andrew Morse | November 6, 2007 |

Gambling lobbyists appear to have found a reliable go-to guy in the U.S. Congress — Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy. The Port Huron Times Herald has the details (h/t RISC)…A bill that would pave the way for a casino in Port Huron picked up a third sponsor last week when a Rhode Island congressman endorsed…