Donald Trump jumps into Rhode Island gaming fray

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Gaming mogul Donald Trump is proposing to bring his empire to Rhode Island in an attempt to steal a potential casino away from the Narragansett Tribe.

Trump has chosen the town of Johnston for what local leaders said would be a $750-million to $1-billion casino with a hotel, retail and entertainment space. The plan rivals the tribe's proposal to build a casino in the town of West Warwick.

The tribe and its partner, Harrah's Entertainment, want to change the state constitution to allow a single, exclusive casino. But Trump says the process should be opened up to other bidders in order to make it more competitive and make a casino more attractive to voters.

Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) has been fighting the tribe's proposal even as he has allowed two non-Indian gaming facilities to expand. His wife, Sue, says her husband isn't a hypocrite for doing so because he never said "I'm against gambling, morally."

"You know, three's a crowd. Two casinos we have, and [with] the size of this state, frankly, that's plenty," she told Providence Journal columnist M. Charles Bakst.

Get the Story:
Trump behind Johnston casino (The Providence Journal 2/16)
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Council OKs new casino impact study (The Providence Journal 2/16)
M. Charles Bakst: Sue Carcieri speaks out on casino (The Providence Journal 2/16)