Former Prov. mayor sees potential in Newport Grand

BETTING ON IT: Developer and former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. says he doesn’t gamble and that the Newport Grand project would be solely a real estate venture for him. / COURTESY PAOLINO PROPERTIES
BETTING ON IT: Developer and former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. says he doesn’t gamble and that the Newport Grand project would be solely a real estate venture for him. / COURTESY PAOLINO PROPERTIES

While perhaps best known for his stint as Providence mayor, Joseph R. Paolino Jr. has been a presence in the state’s real estate industry for several decades. He’s currently managing partner at Paolino Properties, a development and real estate firm who’s portfolio includes several downtown Providence properties.
Paolino recently partnered with developers Peter de Savary and Paul G. Roiff in an attempt to introduce table games to Newport Grand. The plan is contingent on voters approving a ballot referendum in November. The trio would then also acquire and renovate the facility.

PBN: With all the development you’ve done over the years, this is your first venture in gaming. What was the attraction for you personally and for the partnership?
PAOLINO: The attraction was, one, Newport. Newport is a wonderful brand. I live there in the summertime and having something where I live is important to me. The second reason is my partnership with Paul Roiff, who owns 15 Beacon St. Hotel in Boston, and Peter De Savary, who has been in this [gaming] business before.
The third reason is the challenge of it. After going through the due diligence of showing it around [for other clients who were developers in the past], I recognized the place is tired, and that if it were closed down people would lose their jobs. And I felt if I put together the right team that we could fix it up, save those jobs, create more jobs, have it become attractive looking and be financially successful. But gaming is foreign to me. I don’t bet on the Superbowl, I don’t gamble. To me it’s a real estate venture. I want to make it into an entertainment center – a lot more than just gaming.

PBN: Newport Grand revenue has been declining in recent years. Why do you think table games are the answer to the casino’s struggles? PAOLINO: The entertainment center is the answer and the table games will [provide] the incentive to rebuild that place. Right now, the tax on the slots machines are about 77 percent. The tax on table games is only 18 percent. It’s not as profitable and doesn’t do the volume [compared to slots], but it does bring a diversity [of customers] into the facility.

PBN: What research did you do prior to making a commitment to tackle this project?
PAOLINO: I have a due diligence report we did and a report done on the building. [Current owner Diane Hurley] spent about $28 million in 2007 to update all of the building codes and other cosmetics. We had a consultant come in and showed it can’t survive the onslaught Massachusetts is going to bring unless table games and other entertainment are brought in. We want to make it into a boutique-type facility.

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PBN: What skills and assets do you bring to the table as a key partner?
PAOLINO: My strength is real estate. Paul’s and Peter’s strength is hospitality. Paul understands the restaurant business and hotels. And Peter is a yachtsman, loves to sail, loves Newport, and has probably owned more than 20 hotels and developed Carnegie Abbey in Portsmouth and has owned a couple of casinos. He had owned Aspinall’s Casino in London.

PBN: How will the timetable work for completing renovations and taking ownership?
PAOLINO: We have to first see if [the referendum vote to authorize] table games gets passed. If it doesn’t get passed, we will walk from the project. If it does pass, we have to wait for our gaming license to be approved from the state of Rhode Island. I have submitted my applications, my partners are submitting theirs. It’s a long process. Because this referendum failed once before, we’re not spending [a lot] trying to figure out what it’s going to be until we have the support of the people. PBN: So is this realistic?
PAOLINO: I guess that’s our bet, right? If we put a new entertainment facility that is boutique, that is attractive, where we can [host] Billy Joel there – that’s what we’re doing. This facility has got to be active 12 months a year.

PBN: A referendum vote in Massachusetts this November will allow voters to consider repealing the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act there. How are you preparing for the eventual likely impact either way?
PAOLINO: We can’t control what goes on in Massachusetts. All we can do is focus on what we’re doing. I’m concerned about [Foxwoods’ plans for] Fall River, so if we can get Newport going and start construction and build up a loyalty, then I think it could be successful. But there’s no doubt about it. If something happens in Massachusetts, this place will be out of business. But we have an opportunity to make ourselves separate and unique from everybody else.
PBN: How many jobs would your renovation add?
PAOLINO: I have a study [being conducted] on that. Right now, we have 175 to 200 people working there, but their hours and wages have decreased. We think there’s going to be at least 200 jobs.

PBN: Why are you supporting former mayor and convicted felon Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci Jr.’s candidacy for mayor?
PAOLINO: I’ve been very public; there’s no secret: I support his candidacy. He cares about the city and he knows how to get things done. •

INTERVIEW
Joseph R. Paolino Jr.
POSITION: Managing partner at Paolino Properties
BACKGROUND: A former mayor of Providence from 1984 to 1991, Paolino is an owner and partner of Paolino Properties in Providence, a real estate development, investment and property-management firm whose stable of properties includes office buildings, shopping centers and apartment developments. He also served as U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Malta from 1994 to 1996 and was director of the R.I. Department of Economic Development and Tourism from 1991 to 1994.
EDUCATION: Paolino earned a master’s degree in liberal arts from Harvard University in 1989 and a bachelor of science degree from Roger Williams University in 1978.
FIRST JOB: Elevator operator in one of his grandfather’s buildings
RESIDENCE: Providence and Newport
AGE: 59

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