The Twin River Management Group recently announced that it is preparing to launch a Tiverton casino campaign next week which will focus on persuading voters in Rhode Island to back the development of the $75 million Tiverton casino which will be situated very near to the Massachusetts state border.

Twin River has created a non-profit organization called the “Citizens to Create Jobs and Protect Revenue, Inc.” and based on Board of Elections filings has spent $180,181 in May 2016 to prepare for its campaign. Twin River is self financing this campaign and is looking to highlight the number of benefits the casino will create for the local communities.

A kick-off campaign will be held on June 21 in Providence’s India Point Park. The campaign launch will be attended by John E. Taylor, the chairman of the Twin River board and key representatives from the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council and the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. A successful campaign will result in Twin River being able to build a new casino on 45 acres off Route 81.

The $75 million casino facility is expected to create thousands of part time construction jobs and later hundreds of full time jobs when the facility is opened to the public. The campaign will also look to highlight the fact that the Tiverton casino will ward off competition from the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s First Light casino in Taunton which is to be constructed at an estimated cost of $1 billion. The Tiverton casino will help to keep gambling revenues within the state and provide the government with more tax revenue.

The Twin River Management Group operates the Newport Grand slots parlor and the Twin River Casino in Lincoln. Should the referendum be approved, Twin River will close down the Newport Grand and will push to transfer the operating licenses from Newport Grand to the new Tiverton casino. Twin River has taken steps to collaborate with the residents of Tiverton in 2015 and get their feedback on the design process. The move was done to spread goodwill in the community and cut back on public opposition.

The referendum goes to vote in November 2016 and for it to be successfully passed it needs support from Tiverton and Rhode Island voters. In a statement, Patti Doyle, a casino representative said “Right now much of the expenses have been readying the communications tools and doing the necessary research so we feel ready and comfortable with bringing the message statewide.”

Twin River has once again hired Winner & Associates, a LA based communications firm to run its campaign. Twin River also worked with Winner & Associates during its 2012 failed campaign to bring table games to the slots parlor in Newport Grand. Twin River has so far shelled out around $90,000 for consulting and campaign fees and another $65,100 to carry out statewide polling to see how receptive Rhode Islanders were to the Tiverton casino.