The Twin River Management Group operates several gambling operations in a number of states including Rhode Island, where they have just finished proposing to build a new casino in the Tiverton area, spending $75 million in the process. This amount would pay for the acquisition of the land and a casino build in Tiverton to include table games, lottery terminals and hotel rooms.
A meeting took place earlier this week at Tiverton High School where Twin River revealed their proposal for the casino. It was back in April that Twin River announced they were interested in moving the operation of Newport Grand from the location of Aquidneck Island to the rural town of Tiverton, which is close to the Massachusetts border.
The location would help to defend against the competition of Massachusetts, a state that continues to expand their gambling offerings. It is believed that the area of the proposal is one reason why the investors decided to move away from plans in New Bedford for a casino.
A big difference from the Newport Grand with the Tiverton proposal is that the venue would have a hotel as well as table games. Guest space, roulette, craps and blackjack are all aspects that the Newport Grand does not have. The casino has a proposed 85,000 square feet of space and would include 32 table games, 1,000 VLTs and a hotel with 84 guest rooms.
The casino has been estimated to have the potential to create $104 to $148 million in revenues in 2020, based on how gambling is expanded in Massachusetts. According to the plans, $3 million of slot and table game revenues would go towards Tiverton, at a minimum. $4 million annually will be paid in real estate taxes and other taxes.
For the plan to move forward in Tiverton, the Town Council must vote in favor of the General Assembly to put in place a referendum for the November 2016 ballot statewide. The referendum must then be approved by the residents of Tiverton as well as statewide voters. If the vote is approved, the proposal then has to move through the town and state regulatory approvals before construction can begin.
Executives of Twin River have met with residents of Tiverton for many months to explain their ideas for their plan. These meetings include three workshops at Tiverton High School. During the meetings, concerns have been for the traffic to be brought to the area as well as financial commitments to Tiverton, environmental issues and the potential for jobs for residents. On Monday, the casino executives tried to address these concerns with residents.
In addition to the Newport Grand, other Twin River Management properties include Twin River Casino in Lincoln, the seventh largest in North America according to executives; Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi, and Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colorado.