Newport Grand will keep its slot machines open later, but not all night as the General Assembly permitted in its attempt to balance the state budget with revenue from gambling.

Amy Kempe, a spokeswoman for the Newport establishment, said last night that it will move its closing from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and on the nights before holidays.

Closing at 2 a.m., Newport Grand chief executive officer Diane Hurley said in a written statement, appears to present “the most effective way to grow revenue.”

Kempe said management estimates that maximum revenue would be generated between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. But she said that opening later than 2 a.m. poses “significant operating issues” including the need to hire and train more staff and provide management. She said the management hopes to extend its hours until 3 a.m. eventually.

She said the facility hasn’t decided whether to stay open late on Christmas Eve, but that it tends to reduce hours then so its workers can take time off.

Newport Grand is now open from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. seven days a week. The new law allows it and Twin River, the other gambling site in the state, to stay open overnight on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays and until 3 a.m. on other days.

Last weekend, Twin River, in Lincoln, began offering 24-hour gambling on weekends and holidays.

Trying to balance the budget, the General Assembly overrode Governor Carcieri’s veto of 24-hour gambling. The state expected to take in about $243 million from Twin River’s video slots for the fiscal year ending June 30 and about $256 million for the next fiscal year. The Journal has reported that legislators are betting that round-the-clock gambling at Twin River and Newport Grand to raise upward of $14 million in new revenue.

—Bruce Landis