PROVIDENCE — With Twin River primed and ready to offer overnight gambling starting Friday night, the Democrat-dominated General Assembly yesterday overrode Republican Governor Carcieri’s veto of legislation allowing 24-hour video-gambling at both Twin River in Lincoln and Newport Grand.

The Senate voted 24 to 8 to override the governor’s veto of a day earlier, shortly after the House voted 51 to 16 to do the same.

Now law, the legislation allows the two privately-owned slots emporiums to remain open overnight on Fridays, Saturdays and state and federal holidays; it allows them to remain open until 3 a.m. all other days, and it contains a one-year sunset clause to allow lawmakers to reassess both the community and revenue impact of the overnight gambling, and reconsider the initial drive for 24-hour gambling, seven days a week.

Out of the state’s anticipated $15.1-million revenue gain, the lawmakers carved out an additional $1.1 million for Lincoln, which is one of the towns in Senate President Joseph Montalbano’s home district, and $273,005 for Newport, the hometown of Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed.

The vote fell along largely partisan lines, with most Republicans — and most of the lawmakers from the two affected communities who voted — voting against the override.

In the veto message he issued on Monday, Carcieri repeated his oft-stated reservations about forcing expanded hours on two communities that have said they do not want it. The Newport City Council unanimously passed a resolution objecting to round-the-clock-gambling; Lincoln voters overwhelmingly rejected the concept during a nonbinding referendum in fall.

“The host communities should have some say when it comes to deciding the hours of operation for these two facilities,” Carcieri said in his veto. “Twin River and Newport Grand are very large entities, attracting thousands of people on a daily basis, and while the state generates significant revenue from their operation, Lincoln and Newport are forced to bear the burdens of having such facilities in their communities.”

“It is generally the prerogative of cities and towns to set the hours of operations for restaurants, bars, grocery and convenience stores and other businesses,” Carcieri said. “Under the scheme passed by the General Assembly, the people of Lincoln and Newport are at the mercy of large-scale gambling facilities, with no recourse.”

In a shortened replay of last week’s long House debate, Minority Whip Nicholas Gorham, R-Coventry, accused his fellow lawmakers of falling back to avoid making hard choices about cutting state spending in a year when the state is facing a huge and growing deficit.

“How can we regulate that which we rely on for so much revenue?” he wondered. “No matter how you slice it, by increasing the number of hours the casinos operate in Rhode Island under the aegis that it will produce more revenue … all we are doing, in effect, is ensuring ever more that we rely on casino gambling — a vice according to anyone you ask — to run our state.”

He argued, “Taxes are painful. They are meant to be painful because that is the one check we have against the growth of government…. The real thing this room is afraid to do is raise taxes, but I suspect you’ll be doing even that before this session is over because this $15 million isn’t nearly enough unless, of course, you want to do the one thing that we need to do more than ever — which is reduce spending.”

But in his response, House Majority Whip Peter Kilmartin, D-Pawtucket, accused the governor, and his supporters, of inconsistency, illogic and trying to have it “all ways” on issues of local control and local input, when just last week “at the governor’s initiative we rammed a $12-million cut [in local aid] down every city and town’s throat.”

Continuing, Kilmartin noted the legislature’s approval — with Carcieri’s backing — of 2,550 additional video slots at Twin River and Newport Grand, and then said: “The governor oversaw the biggest expansion of gambling, but now doesn’t want to expand gambling? Frankly, this administration has had more flip flops than Scarborough Beach … This one is just the latest.”

Late yesterday, Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal issued a statement saying the governor “continues to believe that the local communities should have a say in the decision to authorize the expansion of gambling hours at Twin River and Newport Grand. However, the governor respects the General Assembly’s right to override a veto.”

Asked yesterday how soon overnight gambling would start, Twin River spokeswoman Patti Doyle said: “This weekend, starting Friday/Saturday.” She said an announcement was imminent “about special promotions and services we’ll offer starting at the bewitching hour of 2 a.m. Saturday.”

Newport Grand’s only immediate plan was to “meet with the city to address any of their concerns,” said spokeswoman Amy Kempe.

kgregg@projo.com