Non-Indian casino headed toward final approval in Rhode Island

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

It may not look like it but there's a casino hidden in this artist's rendering of a proposed development in Tiverton, Rhode Island. Image by Twin River Management Group Another non-Indian casino in Rhode Island appears poised for approval after voters went to the polls on Tuesday.

Statewide, Question 1 passed with 55 percent of the vote. But final approval rests with residents of Tiverton, where the new facility would be located.

According to news reports, the casino measure is slightly ahead in Tieverton. Mail-in ballots must still be counted before the non-Indian developers can claim complete victory.

The Twin River Management Group, a non-Indian company that manages two gaming facilities in the state, is behind the effort. If the ballot measure clears, a slot machine parlor in Newport Grand will be closed to make way for the new establishment.

Under state law, all gaming proposals must go before voters. But attempts by the Narragansett Tribe to open casinos have been repeatedly rejected at the polls even as non-Indian proposals have won approval.

The tribe would like to use its reservation for a casino but is prevented from doing so by an act of Congress. The law written specifically to exclude the Narragansetts from the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The Twin River gaming site in Tiverton is just 400 feet from the Massachusetts border, according to news reports. It's also less than 20 miles from the city of Taunton, where the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is building a $1 billion casino that's in limbo due to a court case.

Voters in Massachusetts on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure that would have authorized a second slot facility in the state, WBUR reported. One is already in operation in Plainville, less than 20 miles from Taunton.

Read More on the Story:
Casino Proponents Await Count Of Mail-In Ballots (Rhode Island Public Radio 11/9)
Mail ballots hold the fate of Tiverton casino proposal (The Fall River Herald News 11/8)
Tiverton casino to be built after voters approve project (AP 11/8)
Mass. Voters Reject Proposal For 2nd Slots Parlor In The State (WBUR 11/8)