PROVIDENCE — A Superior Court judge yesterday granted Twin River’s owners an extra month to make peace with Dimeo Construction and the other contractors that went to court last year seeking $5.7 million in delinquent payments for their work on the renovation of the greyhound track and slot parlor.

The latest “consent order” signed by Judge Michael A. Silverstein gives Twin River’s owners until Feb. 28, at the latest, to pay what it owes the contractors, in exchange for an interim payment of $250,000 on Feb. 13.

There is a caveat, however: The deal is off if Twin River’s lenders — led by Merrill Lynch Capital Corporation — initiate any kind of action between now and the end of the month to collect the $565 million they are owed. In that case, “Dimeo and the Dimeo subcontractors shall be entitled to take such action as may be necessary or appropriate to respond and protect their respective rights,” according to the newly filed court order.

The order was signed by a phalanx of lawyers for Dimeo Construction, Arden Engineering Constructors, Century Drywall, Kenneth Castellucci & Assoc., H.W. Ellis Painting Company, Delta Mechanical Contractors, J.L. Marshall & Sons, Aero Mechanical, Siemens Building Technologies and W. Mark Russo, of Ferrucci Russo representing the partnership that owns Twin River, BLB Investors.

The previous consent order won by the contractors required payments to them totaling $1.75 million — and in amounts ranging from $75,000 to $250,000 monthly — between May 30, 2008 and Jan. 29, 2009, which roughly coincided with the original end-date for BLB’s “forbearance agreement” with its lead lenders.

Twin River is run by a subsidiary of BLB Investors, a holding company composed of Kerzner International, Starwood Capital Group and Waterford Group LLC. The company bought the Lincoln Park dog track in 2005, along with three greyhound racetracks and a horse track in Colorado, and then embarked on a $225-million renovation and expansion.

Gambling is the third-largest source of state revenue, expected by budget writers to generate $246.8 million this year from the slot-play at Twin River alone where there are 4,751 video slots, including a newly introduced “virtual roulette” game. But Twin River has been struggling.

Its owners fell behind in their debt payments last March. At last report, they had $565 million in outstanding loans. Their revenue is stagnant, and they say they have not made enough to pay their bills. Their credit rating has been downgraded to “D,” with one major rating-service agency citing the high probability of a bankruptcy.

The lenders agreed not to exercise their rights to try to seize the property or take any other action that might force Twin River into bankruptcy court for a period of time to give the owners a chance to get their financial house in order. But that agreement lapsed early on Jan. 5, for reasons that remain unclear.

High-ranking state officials, including General Treasurer Frank Caprio, have talked about a potential state buyout or takeover of the state’s largest slot parlor. House Speaker William J. Murphy has said the state has to consider every option except a reduction in the state’s share of the revenue.

In the interim, Twin River’s financial advisers from the New York-based Lazard Ltd. have been meeting privately with the state’s financial team from the Blackstone Group, a leveraged buyout firm, in an attempt to work out a financial plan that safeguards the state’s huge share of the video-slot revenue.

Asked yesterday where those talks stand, Twin River spokeswoman Patti Doyle said: “Discussions are ongoing. There has been no formal offer made at this juncture. We still continue to explore just about every option and opportunity to come to a resolution.”

kgregg@projo.com