Twin River gets OK for more live table games after less than 3 months
Published: September 09, 2013 Bob Thayer/The Providence Journal
By Katherine Gregg
Providence Journal
Published: September 09 2013 11:30
PROVIDENCE — Twin River Casino has won state Lottery approval to increase the number of live table games at the sprawling electronic slot parlor that morphed in mid-June into a full-blown casino.
A spokeswoman confirmed Monday that the Lincoln casino has been granted permission by state Lottery Director Gerald Aubin to up the number of Las Vegas-style betting games — such as blackjack and roulette — from 66 to 80. The permission was granted on Friday.
Twin River’s owners spent roughly $7 million to renovate the gambling hall to accommodate the live gambling action, after winning voter approval last November. They also hired approximately 400 more workers to oversee the expanded operation that opened on June 19.
In an email advising lawmakers of the decision to allow more table games, the state’s director of revenue, Rosemary Booth Gallogly, said: “This proposal can be accomplished with the existing footprint of the building without reducing the number of VLTs.”
VLT is the acronym for the 4,538 electronic gambling machines — also known as Video Lottery Terminals — placed at Twin River by the state Lottery, under terms where the state keeps roughly 61 cents of every dollar a gambler left behind.
The state’s share of the table game action is only 18 percent, and Twin River had dropped the number of VLTs from 4,752 in January to the current 4,538. The casino nonetheless predicted the new games would generate $16 million to $20 million in additional revenue annually for the state, including “companion play” on the VLTs. The state’s own projections for this year are more conservative.
August numbers are not yet available. But in July, the state’s share of the gambling bounty went up.
In that one month, July, the state reaped $24,891,666 from the VLTs and $1,078,879 from the table games, compared with $24,722,239 from the VLTs alone in July 2012, according to the Lottery.
“There will be approximately 100 low-performing VLTs taken offline during the construction period,” with no significant financial impact, Gallogly wrote key lawmakers.
“Construction in the Table Game area and in the High Roller room will be done simultaneously, with an estimated completion date around Thanksgiving. At that time, 100 high-denomination VLTs will be added to the High Roller room.”
And “since it will not result in fewer VLTs over the long term, and serves to satisfy a demand presented by these new gaming patrons, I support the request as a defensive measure against competition,” she wrote.
A number of questions have yet to be answered by Twin River and the state Lottery, including a breakdown of the kind of games that Twin River intends to install, and the impact, if any, on the casino’s staffing needs.
But in response to a Providence Journal inquiry, Twin River spokeswoman Patti Doyle said: “We received approval on Friday to increase the number of table games from 66 to 80. The request was borne out [by] the fact that the table games have exceeded our expectations in many respects.
“Twin River chairman John E. Taylor, Jr. has said in the past that the market would largely dictate any expansion plans and that was certainly the case here,” Doyle said. “Twin River is planning to announce later this week the plan and timetable for bringing on line the additional games.”
In the era before voters approved a separation-of-powers amendment to the state Constitution, Lottery decisions such as this were discussed and approved at the public meetings of a Lottery Commission made up of both legislative and executive appointees. Since the dismantling of this and other state boards, decisions are made internally, without public discussion or debate.
Aubin was not immediately available for comment. But when asked, Doyle confirmed Twin River’s request was made to the Lottery on Aug. 19.
State sponsored gambling is the third largest source of state revenue, behind sales and income taxes.
The Lottery is expected to contribute a total of $394.1 million to the state treasury during the budget year that began on July 1.
That includes $63 million from traditional Lottery games such as scratch tickets, Keno and other numbers games such as Powerball and Mega Millions, and a total of $324.6 million from the VLTs at Twin River ($298.2) and the smaller Newport Grand ($26.4 million).
The top financial advisers to the House, Senate and governor are betting that the new table games will produce $60 million in net new revenue at Twin River. The state’s 18-percent share would total $10.8 million, but after the $4.3 million estimated cost of regulation is deducted, they expect, the state will net $6.5 million.
House Finance Committee Chairman Helio Melo, who has been watching the monthly revenue numbers closely, issued this statement on Monday in response to an inquiry about the approval of more table games:
“I am pleased to learn that the table games have been so successful, particularly in light of the impending competition coming from Massachusetts. It is also very significant that the Lottery Division is ensuring there will be no negative impact to the VLTs, which are an important revenue source to our state of Rhode Island.”
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