Those interviewed by the polling firm tell The Journal that questions also touched on the governor's reelection chances as well as the perception of Harrah's Entertainment.

01:00 AM EST on Thursday, February 2, 2006

BY KATHERINE GREGG
Journal State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE -- The casino lobby is refusing to release all of the findings of a much-heralded new poll conducted by a nationally prominent Democratic polling firm.

The poll reflected what was described by the promoters of the proposed Harrah's-Narragansett Indian casino as "overwhelming" support for a public referendum on their proposal to rewrite the state Constitution to remove a legal roadblock.

In a cover letter to the packet sent to state lawmakers late last week, the Narragansetts' Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas said: "Attached is a topline overview of the recent poll . . . The results clearly indicate the overwhelming support of Rhode Islanders for the right to vote on a Constitutional Amendment."

But the poll conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates apparently went deeper than disclosed, into Rhode Island politics, Republican Governor Carcieri's reelection chances and public perceptions about the involvement of Harrah's Entertainment, the Las Vegas-based international gambling conglomerate bankrolling the West Warwick casino drive.

One woman who was interviewed for the poll recalled yesterday having been asked how she would rate Carcieri, who is the highest profile opponent of the casino referendum, versus his likely Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty.

Another recalled questions about the new gambling-taxes that boosters of the proposed casino have tried to link in both the public's mind -- and the proposed constitutional amendment -- to unspecified "property tax relief."

But, "they didn't ask . . . are you aware the new casino will pay a whole bunch less than the other places? Do you know that Harrah's will pay cheap -- and I was listening for it," said Laura Bell, a 75-year-old retired Providence school teacher who was one of the interviewees who called The Providence Journal to question the selective release of the poll findings.

Added another of the interviewees, Susan Saunders, 55, of Cranston: "I find it very puzzling that Hart did not reveal the other questions."

Saunders said she favors having the referendum out of a concern for "backroom deals . . . I feel very strongly that for something that is going to have, potentially, as huge an impact on this state, we as citizens should have a right to have our say."

Bell said: "I was one of the [32] percent who said I don't even want to see it on the ballot on the grounds that somebody might vote for it."

But on this they agreed: their interviewer was someone with an accent who had trouble pronouncing familiar Rhode Island names, such as Fogarty.

The casino lobby's new public-relations consultant, Joshua N. Fenton, responded at 4:15 p.m. yesterday to three days of requests from The Journal to the tribe, Harrah's and the Hart firm for the full poll.

He provided, via e-mail, a Washington, D.C., phone number for someone connected to Hart, who was unavailable for comment.

Fenton had no response to criticism the selective release of the poll findings elicited yesterday from the Carcieri administration, the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association and two of the poll interviewees.

Amy Kempe, a spokeswoman for the hospitality association, who also speaks from time to time for Newport Grand, called the release of selective findings "the oldest political trick in the book . . . more of a political stunt than a scientific analysis."

"We question the validity of any poll where the parties refuse to release the whole poll," she said. "Without releasing the questions and all the answers, it is impossible to evaluate the results," she said.

Added Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal: "It is clear that they only provided very selective portions of their poll to the press in an effort to make a very specific point. I am sure there were other parts of that poll they don't want the people of Rhode Island to know about."

It was Neal's comments on Monday that sparked calls, from interviewees, to The Journal.

After being shown the four "key" questions and answers sent to lawmakers late last week -- and then made public by Thomas on Monday, Neal said: : "Why don't the casino proponents admit in their poll questions that the casino will be owned and operated by Harrah's, an out-of-state gambling company?"

"By naming the Narragansett Indian tribe, but hiding the involvement of Harrah's, the poll questions give the false impression that the tribe will be in charge of the casino," he said. "There is no way to say how much their decision to conceal Harrah's involvement in the casino project skews the results."

Yesterday, after it came to light that the responses to questions about Harrah's had been withheld, Neal said his earlier comments "were based on the very limited amount of information that was provided to The Journal and thereby provided to me."

"If, in fact, they polled other questions, such as political races in the state, it is clear," he said, "that this effort is tied to a larger political strategy and it would explain the use of a Democratic polling firm to conduct this poll."

There was no comment yesterday from Lincoln Park which found, when it conducted its own poll two years ago, that support for the proposed West Warwick casino dropped sharply when potential voters were told the tribe and Harrah's were proposing to pay the state "significantly less" in taxes than the two existing gambling houses.

The state expects to collect nearly $267.1 million in video-slot revenue this year from Lincoln Park and Newport Grand, which each pay the state close to 60 percent of their net slot revenue. Harrah's, by contrast, has proposed paying the state a tiered rate starting at 25 percent.

"Yeah, I think it would be helpful to make the entire poll public," said the chairman of the powerful House committee likely to preside over this year's casino proposal.

From what he has has seen so far, House Finance Chairman Steven M. Costantino said it appears "the questions weren't the right questions." He said the overarching question, in his mind, is whether people want to insert, in the Constitution, a tax rate for a specific corporation under the terms the casino lobby has suggested in its draft bill.

"I don't think there is much support for that and the poll never really asks that question," said Costantino, D-Providence.

kgregg@projo.com / (401) 277-7078