The key for any successful gambler is to know when to go all in, especially when you are playing a high-stakes game. And for the owners of the former Lincoln Park, it looks as if their $220 million wager may just be paying off.
That’s approximately how much BLB Investors LLC has spent transforming an antiquated slot parlor in Lincoln into a gleaming attraction with three mid- to upscale restaurants, an events facility that has hosted touring musical acts, a popular nightclub and a comedy club that attracts top talent.
“It’s a dramatic transformation, for sure,” said Patti Doyle, a spokeswoman for the re-christened Twin River facility that is attracting a younger clientele and more repeat customers than it had previously.
Doyle said that the facility also has benefited from increased gambling options at the site. As part of BLB’s purchase of Lincoln Park from Wembley PLC in July 2005, the General Assembly approved the addition of 1,750 video lottery terminals (VLTs) at the facility, bringing Twin River’s total number to 4,752.
According to the R.I. Division of Lottery, Twin River saw $973 million enter its machines in Fiscal Year 2004, when the then-Lincoln Park had 2,300 machines online. In FY 2007, the facility saw nearly $1.3 billion come into its VLTs.
Through the first five months of this fiscal year, the facility has seen $733 million spent at its VLTs – setting a pace for Twin River to beat last year’s total intake by roughly a third.
Doyle said customers are also coming fo new games, like virtual blackjack, which allows patrons to interact with a computerized dealer at a table instead of in a slot machine-like setting. (Actual table games are currently not permitted under Rhode Island laws).
“It’s been a real nice, spirited type of game for our client,” Doyle said.
But could those virtual dealers soon be replaced by living, breathing ones?
One bill already submitted to the General Assembly this year would allow Twin River and the state’s other slot parlor, Newport Grand, to remain open 24 hours per day, seven days per week in hopes of generating more revenue at the facilities.
The idea is to increase receipts at the facilities in difficult fiscal times. Revenue received from both facilities – which both kick 60 percent of their revenue to the state’s coffers –and the games run by the R.I. Division of Lottery generate more than $300 million annually, a sizeable portion of the state’s $3 billion total intake.
There also has been talk in political circles about expanding both gambling halls into full-fledged casinos.
Doyle said Twin River has not publicly advocated for an increase in its permissible functions. Last week, however, Twin River’s executives estimated round-theclock gambling at the facility could produce an extra $16.5 million annualy for the state.
Rep. William San Bento, (D-Pawtucket), chairman of the legislature’s Lottery Oversight Commission, told PBN in an interview that the state needs the extra money.
“Let’s face it, if you go up there and walk around, it is a casino. Going 24/7 will help us bring in revenue we need,” he said. The town of Lincoln already has come out against plans to expand gambling or lengthen hours of operation at the facility. Town voters squarely rejected both ideas in a special nonbinding referendum put before them in November.
Lincoln receives roughly $8 million annually from the facility and would see that amount increase should receipts at Twin River grow.
Neither Jeremiah “Jay” O’Grady, Lincoln Town Council president, nor Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond returned phone calls seeking comment before press time last week.
Local voters’ opposition, albeit in a non-binding referendum, could kill any move to a destination casino with table games. Approval by a majority of voters statewide as well as in the host community would be needed.
Lincoln’s rejection of a casino – along with the failed 2006 effort of the Narragansett Indian Tribe and Las Vegas-based Harrah’s Entertainment to put a casino in West Warwick – suggest a widespread aversion to increased gaming in Rhode Island. But looming development’s across the state’s border could sway voter’s opinions.
Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick and the state’s legislature are currently debating proposals to put up to three casinos in the Bay State – including one located in Middleboro, roughly 45 minutes from Twin River.
San Bento and other R.I. gambling proponents say that at least expanding Twin River’s operating hours will help it compete against that potential threat.
Twin River, however, doesn’t expect to be put out of business by any new casinos, regardless of their location.
“If we make sure that it’s a wonderful experience for our customers, they’ll come back regardless of what may be occurring beyond our state’s borders,” Doyle said. •
