LINCOLN — Amid a growing push to expand gambling in Rhode Island, voters living in the shadows of the state’s largest video slot parlor registered their sharp opposition to the move last night.

Lincoln residents, casting ballots on a pair of nonbinding referendums, voted by wide margins to oppose 24-hour gambling at Twin River and to reject any shift to a full-scale casino, including table games. Sixty-five percent opposed 24-hour gambling and 60 percent disapproved of a full-scale casino.

The impact of the vote, designed to interject a local voice into a debate dominated by Smith Hill, is unclear. But Town Council President Jeremiah O’Grady, an opponent of expanded operations at Twin River, said the message to lawmakers is clear.

“This was not a close vote,” he said. “We’ve told you, we do not accept the concept of a full-scale casino in town.”

State officials, O’Grady said, would ignore that message at their own peril.

For, while they could extend Twin River’s hours without consulting the locals, any expansion into a full-scale casino would eventually require approval by Lincoln residents — in a binding vote.

The vote on the referenda came as an escalating state budget crisis and a push to open three resort casinos in Massachusetts put increasing pressure on the legislature to ramp up gaming in Rhode Island.

Lawmakers, eyeing millions more in tax revenue, toyed with a shift to 24-hour gambling at the end of the legislative session this year.

And State Sen. Paul E. Moura, D-East Providence, has vowed to press for the measure when the legislature reconvenes in January, arguing that expanded hours on weekends and holidays alone would pour $25 million to $30 million more into state coffers.

Key legislative leaders, including Senate Finance Chairman Stephen D. Alves, have suggested in recent months that they are open to the idea.

But Governor Carcieri has indicated that he will give significant weight to local opinion.

“The governor does not object to the idea of expanding the hours at Twin River,” said Jeff Neal, the governor’s spokesman, in an interview Friday. “However, he has made it clear that he wants the input of the town in making that decision.”

Whether the governor — or anyone else in state government — will pay much attention to the local vote on 24-hour gambling has been a subject of considerable debate in local political circles.

State gambling revenue, expected to reach $290 million this year, is the government’s third largest source of income.

Ronald A. McKenna, a Town Council member, argued that money trumps all on Smith Hill.

“I know the state is addicted to the revenues from gambling,” he said in an interview last night. “You think they’re going to listen to the people of Lincoln?”

O’Grady, who led the charge for the referenda, acknowledged that the Assembly could disregard the message on 24-hour gambling.

But better to speak up, he said, than to stay quiet — especially in the midst of increasing anxiety around state finances.

After state budget officials revised their estimate for next year’s deficit from $200 million to between $400 million and $450 million in a daylong conference Friday, O’Grady said, the state’s “incremental march” toward a full-scale casino at Twin River could soon turn into an all-out “run.”

If budget troubles seem bound to influence the gambling debate, the pressure from Massachusetts could be equally great, said Prof. Clyde Barrow, an expert on New England’s gambling industry who is director of the Center for Policy Analysis at UMass-Dartmouth.

Twin River, which recently put $220 million into a major overhaul of the facility, formerly known as Lincoln Park, draws 40 percent of its customers from the Bay State, according to Barrow. Newport Grand, another slot parlor, pulls 44 percent of its clientele from the neighbor to the north.

If Governor Patrick prevails in his push to bring three new casinos to Massachusetts, Barrow said, Twin River and Newport Grand could easily lose one-third of their customers.

The dip could cost the state $60 million in gambling revenue, he added.

But whatever the urgency on Smith Hill, the campaign leading to the Lincoln referenda was relatively low-key.

The Town Council approved the special election just a month and a half before last night’s vote. And Twin River, citing the short time frame, sat out the debate.

Still, turnout at what was believed to be the state’s first Saturday election was reasonably strong.

A total of 3,203 voters, or roughly 20 percent of the total eligible, cast ballots at one of four polling places or by mail. Turnout was particularly high at Lincoln Middle School, the closest of the polling places to Twin River.

Voters at the middle school, presumably those most affected by traffic and noise from the video-slot parlor, were heavily opposed to both measures — with 72 percent voting against 24-hour gambling and 66 percent rejecting a full-scale casino.

Twin River, in a statement last night, said, “We remain completely committed to an ongoing, productive dialogue with the Town Council and other community leaders regarding our present and future operations.”

The gambling hall was not without support at the polls. Voter James Isherwood, who lives less than two miles from Twin River, was in favor of 24-hour gambling.

“They’re there until 2 a.m. anyway. What’s the difference if you add another few hours,” said Isherwood, a Lincoln resident for 47 years. “With the problems the state has today, we need all the help we can get.”

Twin River opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 2 a.m. every day.

Edward Queenan voted no, largely for moral reasons.

“I’m opposed to gambling in general,” he said, adding that additional slot revenue would be a “short-term patch at best” for the state’s fiscal problems.

“This is not the resolution,” he said. “The money would go into the general fund and that would be the end of it. Give them more money to spend and they’ll spend it.”

Voters on both sides of the issue seemed to agree on one thing: a Saturday election makes sense.

Ninety-five percent of the 733 voters surveyed outside the polling stations yesterday by the secretary of state’s office said they liked the weekend polling, according to Chris Barnett, a spokesman for the secretary’s office.

Asked why they approved, in an open-ended question, many said that they did not have to worry about skipping out on part of a workday, according to Barnett. Others cited general convenience.

The results were welcome news for A. Ralph Mollis, the secretary of state, who is preparing to introduce legislation that would stretch elections over two days — allowing Rhode Island voters to cast a ballot on either a Saturday or the traditional Tuesday.

speoples@projo.com