A Las Vegas gaming executive has dropped his bid for a license to operate a gambling facility in Rhode Island amid concerns about his efforts to create a Massachusetts casino that would compete with the Twin River slot parlor.

William H. Warner, of Warner Gaming, on Friday informed the R.I. Department of Business Regulation that he was withdrawing his application for a gambling operator’s license, according to Michael Marques, the department’s director.

The department began reviewing Warner’s background in the summer when he came under consideration for taking over management of financially troubled Twin River. The company that operates Twin River, UTGR Inc., filed for federal bankruptcy protection in June.

In October, Warner and a partner unveiled a proposal to build a resort casino in Milford, Mass., joining the crowd of developers betting that opposition to casino gambling in Massachusetts will finally crumble under the weight of the Bay State’s deep financial problems.

In Massachusetts last week, Governor Patrick said he plans to close his state’s $600-million budget gap with a blend of cuts in state services and programs and up to 2,000 job cuts. Meanwhile, Bay State lawmakers began weighing testimony from the public on a range of gambling bills, from measures that would license casinos to proposals to allow slot machines at the state’s racetracks.

Warner’s proposal would create a gambling complex that could house 5,000 slot machines, 250 gambling tables, hotel rooms, restaurants and all the accoutrements of a full-fledged casino resort. The complex, known as the Crossroads Resort Project, would be located along Route 495 in Milford –– about 20 miles north of Twin River.

That proposal apparently raised the hackles of the lenders trying to realign the finances of the Twin River slot parlor in Lincoln, according to Marques.

“He indicated he was withdrawing his application because [UTGR’s] lenders communicated to him that they were not comfortable with his plans for gaming in another state,” Marques said.

When UTGR Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company owed nearly $568 million to dozens of banks, investment firms, government agencies, contractors and individuals, but had only $56.6 million in assets. Merrill Lynch Capital Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., BlackRock Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase Bank are among the lenders owed money by UTGR.

Out of every dollar lost at one of the 4,750 video-lottery terminals at Twin River, the state gets slightly more than 60 cents. The slots alone produced $396.7 million in net income in the year that ended June 30. From those player losses, the state got more than 60 percent, $242.3 million; Twin River’s owners, $110.3 million; Providence-based GTECH and other equipment providers split $27.8 million; GTECH, another $9.9 million as the central-system operator and the Town of Lincoln, $5.7 million.

For the Milford project, Warner has joined with David H. Nunes, another casino industry member with ties to Rhode Island’s gambling issue. Nunes, a Colorado resident, was aligned with Donald Trump in the celebrity financier’s failed attempt to build a casino in Johnston.

Neither Warner, nor Nunes returned a reporter’s phone calls.

pgrimald@projo.com