PROVIDENCE — In a private meeting with Governor Carcieri in May, one of the owners of the state’s largest slot parlor laid out a wish list for Twin River that included the introduction of “virtual” blackjack, reel-to-reel slot machines akin to what gambling aficionados might see in a casino outside Rhode Island, and 24-hour gambling.

Len Wolman’s visit with the governor went unannounced at the time.

In recent days, state Lottery Director Gerald Aubin acknowledged his own unannounced decision to allow the installation at the Lincoln dog track of one or more varieties of virtual blackjack, an electronic game in which five or six players sit at a table signaling their moves to a simulated — and in promotional photographs, blond and buxom — “dealer” on a video screen.

With the governor and the owners of Twin River now arguing that Aubin also has the power to allow 24-hour gambling without public or legislative approval, critics are raising warning flags about what they call “casino creep” without voters ever again having a chance to say yes or no to a question they defeated a year ago: Do you want a full-scale casino?

Said former West Warwick Mayor J. Michael Levesque, a pitchman for last year’s defeated Harrah’s-Narragansett Indian casino: “The tribe and West Warwick had to jump through flaming hoops to put the question on the ballot. [I] guess as long as a human being doesn’t deal the cards, it’s not an expansion of gaming. This is beyond bizarre. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone filed a legal challenge.”

Saying he has already contacted a lawyer about the possibility, onetime congressional candidate and former state Rep. Rodney Driver said: “In 1994, the voters amended the Constitution to require a vote before any new types of gambling were introduced. So here they simply claim that this is nothing new. … If it weren’t new, why would they bother doing it?

“It’s a new idea for getting more people to spend money, many of whom can’t afford to lose it.” said Driver, who, on his own, sued to block the Lottery’s attempt to introduce TV Bingo in the mid-1990s. The Lott dropped the idea after a judge halted the plan.

Amid mounting legal questions about this latest venture, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch served notice earlier this week that he intends to weigh in on whether virtual blackjack falls under the state Constitution’s requirement that any new type of gambling win statewide and local approval.

The games combine “the latest in interactive technology with the camaraderie of live table games,” according to one manufacturer. “Personable video dealers will entice even the most reticent players to try their luck at table games.”

The governor, the chairman of the legislature’s Lottery-oversight committee and a unidentified lawyer working for the legislature have taken the position that the new multiplayer games are no different from the thousands of video-lottery terminals already in play at Newport Grand and Twin River, the former Lincoln Park.

But in response to inquiries, Lynch spokesman Michael Healey said: “They have a legal opinion that evidently says it’s legal for these virtual blackjack machines to be installed … we’ll have to reserve judgment.”

“In the interest of fairness, we’d like to comment, and we think we have a voice because of Attorney General Lynch’s involvement in the casino debate and the legal issue that went to the Rhode Island Supreme Court in both 2004 and 2005,” Healey said. But “it’s a fairly complex area of the law and it doesn’t lend itself to an easy answer,” he said. And, “we haven’t seen the proposal and don’t know specifically what it entails.”

At this point, there is no specific proposal, written legal opinion or paper trail of any other kind for a decision that, according to key players in the Carcieri administration, “evolved” out of Aubin’s attempts to stay up to date on developments in the marketplace and the governor’s May 24 huddle with Wolman, who is one of the principals in the consortium of hotel, casino and resort companies that own the Lincoln track. They include hotel giant Starwood Capital, gambling company Kerzner International and Wolman’s Waterford Group.

Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said reel-to-reel, virtual and 24-hour gambling were all “mentioned” during the private meeting.

“I don’t know that the governor took a position at the time,” he said, because “obviously this is a decision that need[ed] to be analyzed by the Lottery division. … [but] it became clear fairly quickly thereafter that the Lottery division believes these games are not different than the VLTs and therefore, perfectly allowable under the law.

“Because the Lottery division expressed no opposition or concerns, the governor had no reason to express concerns,” Neal said.

When asked, Neal said he did not believe anyone in the administration produced a legal opinion on where the new games, 24-hour gambling or even the reel-to-reel machines Twin River is still seeking fall within the state’s legal rubric.

But “a lot of these legal opinions come in conversations,” Neal said. “It’s not unusual.” With respect to 24-hour gambling, Aubin did not respond to inquiries yesterday, but Neal said he is aware that Carcieri has said he has no objection but would first like to see “a genuine expression of interest or at least an expression of lack of opposition” from town officials in Lincoln.

Governor Carcieri has said he does not oppose all-night gambling but would not push for the change unless it had local support, and that is anything but a sure bet. Reacting to lawmakers’ 24-hour gambling discussion in late June, four of the five Lincoln Town Council members said they would oppose letting Twin River stay open all night. Newport Grand also has a prickly relationship with its host community. Currently, Twin River closes at 2 a.m., Newport Grand at 1 a.m.

As for reel-to-reel slot machines, Neal said, they do not have a “video display,” and that “opens a question if this is the same or different” from any one of the thousands of VLTs in both Lincoln and Newport. He said there are two schools of thought that lawyers within the Department of Administration are evaluating.

Where do lawmakers stand? Through a spokesman, House Speaker William Murphy, D-West Warwick, issued this statement: “I look forward to a full and frank discussion and open public hearings on these issues during the next session.”

kgregg@projo.com