LINCOLN — Lincoln Park will open up a massive expansion Friday, making it one of the country’s largest gambling centers.

But it’s not just about size.

Workers put the finishing touches on the large main room of the new Lincoln Park gambling addition. The Twin Hearth Buffet and Carmine’s are two new restaurants at the newly named Twin River.

The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer

Lincoln Park’s owners have spent $220 million so far on improving the aging track, hoping to transform it from a decrepit warehouse for slot machines into a comfortable, upscale gambling establishment.

There will be new high-end restaurants, large open spaces and a 2,000-seat arena that opens next month with a concert by the Goo Goo Dolls.

When all the improvements are done, there will be more slot machines than ever — a total of 4,752. That’s more machines than in any casino in Las Vegas.

In fact, Lincoln Park will have more slots than all but three casinos in the country: Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, both in Connecticut, and Bally’s Atlantic City, in New Jersey.

To highlight the changes, Lincoln Park is even changing its name; a sort of rebirth, track officials like to say.

From now on, the gambling establishment will be called Twin River, a name taken from its location between the Providence and Blackstone rivers.

“I think Lincoln Park had branding to it but it was not symbolic of the change,” said general manager Craig Sculos, who called the old facility “tired, worn and antiquated.”

While the track has undergone a major overhaul, it still lacks some of the major draws of the big casinos, namely a spa, table games such as blackjack and roulette, and a hotel. Track officials acknowledge that they won’t be able to compete on the same level. But they hope that the new facility will draw part of that crowd, especially those who live closer to Lincoln than Connecticut.

Most patrons currently come from within 15 miles, Sculos said. After the renovations, the new Twin River hopes to draw gamblers from as far as 60 miles away, which includes the Worcester and Boston markets.

State lawmakers will be watching the expansion closely. The slot machines at the track are a key source of money for the state. The machines in Lincoln, along with those at Newport Grand, are estimated to bring in $255 million this year. The two facilities pay the state roughly 60 percent of their revenue from the slots, which translates into about 7.5 percent of the state’s revenues.

Gerald S. Aubin, the head of the Rhode Island Lottery, says he is very excited about the expansion and that it will help boost lagging revenues from slot machines.

“It’s an incredible project that I thought, nine months ago, was impossible,” Aubin said. “If it doesn’t compete head to head with Mohegan and Foxwoods, then shame on us. I think it will.”

When construction began in April, Lincoln Park experienced a steep decline in visitors. Parking lots were constantly moved, as were entrances. Longtime patrons suddenly found the track’s roads rerouted and its slot machines shifted.

For most of last year, the slots took in less money than the same period in the prior year. With construction nearing completion — the first floor of the existing building will be under construction through the fall in the final phase of renovations — state and track officials hope to see revenue rebound.

“It has been a very, very challenging and time-consuming project,” Aubin said.

Once everything is done, Aubin said, revenue at Lincoln should grow and give the state good protection against a possible gambling expansion in Massachusetts.

“I think we’ve gone from being a minor-league player to the major leagues,” Aubin said. “We’re going to compete with the other big-league players, namely Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.”

In the past few months, gamblers have noticed some of the changes. Name-brand restaurants are starting to move in. The first was a franchise of the popular Johnny Rockets fast-food hamburger chain. Lincoln Park also just spent $6.5 million on a 7,000-square-foot Irish pub, Fado, that was built in Ireland and brought over piece by piece.

The largest of the new restaurants will be a 581-seat outpost of Carmine’s, an Italian restaurant chain known for its large portions. It started on the Upper West Side of New York City and has since expanded to New York’s Theater District, Atlantic City, N.J., and Atlantis — the Paradise Island, Bahamas, casino resort owned by one of Lincoln Park’s owners.

There will also be a sports-themed steakhouse, a 300-seat all-you-can-eat buffet with made-to-order meals, a Häagen-Dazs ice-cream shop and a Starbucks.

In the middle of the new gambling floor is a “lighthouse bar,” an open pit with seats for 225 people that features a two-story lighthouse and will host free live concerts. It is very similar to the Wolf Den concert area at Mohegan Sun, which was built by one of the track’s current owners. There is also a new space for the comedy club Catch A Rising Star, which will seat 200.

By the end of next month, when Rhode Islanders tune in to see the nightly lottery drawing they will no longer see Channel 12’s TV studio but a drawing held on the gambling floor of Twin River, right next to the slots.

The track is also updating its technology. Gamblers will now be able to take their payment voucher from one slot machine and feed it into another. Previously, they had to walk to a cashier’s booth, get dollar bills and then feed the bills into the new machines.

The 100,000 members of its rewards program will be given new cards that will track how much they gamble and offer rewards based on time and money spent at the machines. But the system will also let patrons hit a few buttons on the slot machine to tell the valet that they want their car ready.

There is also a push to attract gamblers who spend more. A new high-limit section will offer slots where gamblers can wager up to $100 at a time. Adjacent to these machines will be a VIP club with free food and discounted drinks for the most loyal gamblers.

With all these changes, one thing will still remain the same: the odds of winning. For every dollar put into a slot machine, the house will take its cut, which ranges from just under 1 percent to 8 percent. After all, something has to pay for the $220 million in renovations.