Casino

PROVIDENCE — With a public hearing slated for today in Newport on proposals to allow round-the-clock gambling at the two slot parlors, the president of the Lincoln Town Council is citing the current “climate of inevitability” at the State House as a reason for dropping his opposition to expanded hours, as long as they are on weekends and holidays only and Lincoln gets a cut of the new revenue.

In November, the Lincoln Town Council voted unanimously to send a resolution to the General Assembly and Governor Carcieri reiterating its opposition to expanded gambling — either via longer hours of operation or more types of games — at the Twin River greyhound racetrack and video-slot hall.

The resolution came after nearly two-thirds of voters in a nonbinding Nov. 10 referendum opposed a question that would have endorsed 24-hour-a-day operations at Twin River.

At that time, Town Council President Jeremiah T. O’Grady said: “Lincoln residents clearly reject 24-hour operations at Twin River and do not relish the prospect of bleary-eyed, up-all-night gamblers getting behind the wheel just when Lincoln residents hit the road for work, school, or church in the mornings. … The 65-percent rejection of Question 1 [24-hour-a-day operations at Twin River] reflects these concerns.”

Yesterday, however, in response to questions about his reported change in thinking, O’Grady e-mailed this explanation: “Over the past month it became quite clear to me that the question was no longer if hours at Twin River would be expanded, but had shifted to a question of when and to what extent. It is worth noting that 5 members of the House Finance Committee already have their names attached to hours expansion bills as do 3 other members of House leadership. Senate leaders are proposing expansion as well.

“Given this climate of inevitability, I believe I have an obligation to work for a compromise solution that minimizes any additional burdens on the town, while maximizing our benefits,” he said.

The owners of Twin River have dangled $16.5 million annually in possible new state revenue from round-the-clock gambling before a governor and a legislature hungry to close a gaping budget hole.

The legislature’s biggest champion of expanded gambling, Rep. William San Bento, has said: “We need the money. If this wasn’t this particular year, I think it might be a tough deal. But I honestly feel we are in such bad shape for money, anywhere we can get $16 million to $17 million, we better grab it.”

Today’s 4 p.m. hearing by the House Finance Committee at the Old Colony House in Newport will focus on a proposal to allow 24-hour gambling, seven days a week, with all the additional revenue generated going into the state’s General Fund.

Other lawmakers have proposed variations, including bills to allow expanded hours on weekends and holidays only, but House spokesman Larry Berman said they are not being considered today because they raise other tangential issues, such as raising the gambling age or limiting the use of the new gambling dollars to education only.

The only other bill being heard today (H7161) would require an “affirmative vote” by voters statewide and in the local community for an expansion of hours between the current 1 a.m. closing time and 8 a.m.

O’Grady is concerned about any bill that leaves the town with no additional revenue from the expanded hours and also “the possibility of the governor taking unilateral action to expand hours any way he might deem appropriate.”

“When considering the various scenarios, it became clear to me that the best of these for the town would be for the legislature to adopt 24-hour expansion for weekends and holidays only … with expanded local revenue sharing for overnight hours … and a binding local referendum for future hours expansion proposals.”

More specifically, he proposes the state give the town 4 percent of the new gambling money generated by the expanded hours, as recently suggested by his fellow Councilman James Jahnz. The town currently gets approximately 1.3 percent of the revenue from Twin River’s video-slot operation.

“My personal views have not changed,” O’Grady said last night. “I think gambling is the wrong way to balance the budget …. It’s regressive taxation. However, I believe that this is not a widely held viewpoint and if there is going to be expansion, my obligation is to advocate for as small an expansion as possible and with maximum benefits for the town.”

“This additional revenue will provide some compensation for those Lincoln voters (myself included) who feel that the spirit of November’s vote is not being entirely adhered to,” he said.

kgregg@projo.com