A two-year reconstruction project has added space to the Lincoln facility that increases the number of video lottery terminals to 4,752.

The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

The owners of the Twin River slot parlor see the Lincoln gaming venue as their way to tap into the “unsatisfied demand” in the New England market, a company principal said yesterday.

“We have a commitment of over $665 million right here in Rhode Island,” said Len Wolman, a principal with BLB Investors LLC. “It is absolutely a long-term partnership” with the state.

Wolman was to meet with state officials this morning to give them a tour of the facility now that a two-year reconstruction project at the Lincoln site is nearly complete.

Wolman and his partners in BLB spent $220 million improving the aging Lincoln Park track, hoping to transform it from a decrepit warehouse for video slots into a comfortable, upscale gambling establishment.

They’ve added high-end restaurants, lounges and a 2,000-seat arena, spread out the parking area to fit 6,500 cars, rebuilt entrances and added space for more video lottery terminals (VLTs) — bringing the number to 4,752.

To break with the past, they renamed the venue Twin River, a nod to the road that passes by the entrance.

“The experience should be enhanced dramatically,” Wolman said in a phone interview yesterday.

To start the new era, the owners invited officials to a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning in a rebuilt entrance on the venue’s west side, which features a marble-chip floor with a map of Rhode Island embedded in it. After workers finish in the main part of the slot parlor, they’ll move on to the track grandstand and offices.

State lawmakers are watching the expansion closely. The VLTs at the track are a key source of money for the state.

The venue experienced a steep decline in visitors after construction began. Parking lots were moved constantly, as were the entrances. Longtime patrons found the roads rerouted and slot machines shifted from spot to spot.

The machines in Lincoln, along with those at Newport Grand, are projected to bring in $271.1 million this year — $222.2 million from Twin River and $48.9 million from Newport Grand. The two facilities pay the state roughly 60 percent of their revenue from the machines, which translates into about 11 percent of state revenue.

That’s why recent moves elsewhere by Wolman and his partners have state officials nervous. BLB consists of Wolman’s Waterford Group, Kerzner International and Starwood Capital.

Wolman and Kerzner grabbed a share of the Rhode Island gaming market in 2005 when BLB acquired Lincoln Park and several venues in Colorado for $464 million from Wembley PLC.

Earlier this year, they agreed to back the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s effort to open a $1-billion casino in Middleboro, Mass., by 2010. With plans for slot machines, table games, a 1,500-room hotel, golf courses and other attractions, the casino would be similar to the complexes in Connecticut run by the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes and would drawf Twin River and Newport Grand.

BLB and Kerzner won’t have an ownership stake in the Middleboro casino, should it be built, Wolman pointed out.

“Our commitment to the tribe is to support them in development and financing,” he said.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the partners’ venture in Connecticut.

Having developed Mohegan Sun in 1996 through a joint venture called Trading Cove Associates, the partners continue to receive a 5-percent dividend on the casino’s gross revenue, but that ends in 2014.

Massachusetts Governor Patrick has yet to say whether he’ll allow casino gaming in his state, and if so, where he’ll allow the venues.

The sure bet for BLB in the short term is to establish Twin River as its draw in densely populated New England.

Gambling revenue in Connecticut has grown every year since Mohegan Sun opened in the mid-1990s, Wolman said. Last year, the Connecticut casinos together generated $2.4 billion in revenues, while Atlantic City casinos brought in $5.2 billion.

Twin River draws more than 13,000 visitors on weekdays and as many as 20,000 on a Saturday or Sunday. Where once it drew customers from within 15 miles of Lincoln, he said, they now come from farther out, about 35 miles away. The goal is to draw them from 50 or 60 miles out, which would put both heavily populated Boston and tourist-laden Newport in play, he said.

“We feel the New England gaming market has significantly unsatisfied demand,” said Wolman, who lives in Connecticut. “BLB is clearly focused on this facility.”

pgrimald@projo.com