Tiverton best bet on gaming?

Twin River’s proposed casino in Tiverton to replace Newport Grand is critical to Rhode Island’s ability to compete with gaming in the Bay State, according to the casino owner and gaming-industry observers.

“In competitive markets, convenience is critical,” said John E. Taylor Jr., chairman of Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc., the parent company of the Twin River Management Group.

Both Twin River Casino in Lincoln and Newport Grand are “convenience casinos” that draw players from within a 45-minute radius. Compared to Newport, the Tiverton site off Route 24 near the Massachusetts border could better compete with potential resort casinos in Brockton and/or Taunton, as well as Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, Mass., he said.

The biggest reason, he said, is that Newport Grand is not easy to get to for people who would find the Tiverton site convenient.

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“There are 20 [traffic] lights today between Tiverton and Newport Grand,” Taylor noted.

The strategy to acquire Newport Grand and transfer its license to Tiverton is a sound one, says national gaming authority Clyde Barrow, chairman of the department of political science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas.

A resort casino in either Brockton or Taunton “puts Newport Grand slots at risk, and it’ll certainly have an impact on Twin River’s revenue,” said Barrow. “Right now, the overall average revenue impact on the two Rhode Island gaming facilities from Plainridge is about 6 percent. You could expect twice that from a resort casino.”

And that would hurt both the casino owner and the state.

Rhode Island currently collects about $24 million a year from Newport Grand and more than $300 million annually from Twin River, Taylor said.

TRMG is targeting July 2018 for a Tiverton opening, if a referendum that could be held next November is approved by local and statewide voters.

Mass Gaming & Entertainment LLC is the lone applicant so far for a resort casino in Brockton, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. And the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has proposed a “Project First Light” resort and casino in Taunton.

While Twin River would suffer from the competition, it would remain profitable, Barrow said, whereas “keeping Newport Grand viable without Tiverton will be a significant challenge.”

Edward Mazze, distinguished professor of business administration at the University of Rhode Island, agrees.

“If there’s no Tiverton [license], I don’t think there’s going to be a Newport Grand,” he said.

Taylor won’t go that far, insisting Newport Grand could be revitalized, should Tiverton plans come up short.

But Barrow insists the Tiverton proposal “is the best they can do” to compete with Massachusetts gaming projects.

“It will safeguard the convenience market,” he said, “and that’s the core of Newport Grand’s customer base.” •

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