A bill was approved just yesterday with a unanimous vote by the Rhode Island House of Representatives that will allow a hotel to be built on the property of the Twin River Casino. Located in Lincoln, the move to allow the hotel is one that lawmakers felt was a necessity as the ‘casino arms race’ is only continuing to heat up along the Northeastern portion of the US.

The state will be competing with Massachusetts as well as having to face the decline in spending by consumers, both of which have lawmakers of Rhode Island concerned. Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council Policy Analyst, Ryan Mulcahey, stated that when you have new casinos coming in, as there are in Massachusetts, they are going to be competing for the same people. The pie is not going to grow but only be split differently.

The goal of creating the Twin River hotel is to keep the existing customers. Officials of the gaming property have stated that with the addition of a hotel, 200 temporary construction positions will be created as well as full time positions of around 100 employees.