NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Voters in Newport are trying to decide once again whether to allow the expansion of gambling in a city better known for its mansions than its slot machines.
Three investors, including former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr., want to buy Newport Grand, but only if it can add table games. The Nov. 4 ballot includes a statewide question on whether to permit table games such as blackjack and roulette at the slots parlor.
A majority of statewide voters and of Newport voters would have to approve it if Newport Grand is to become a full casino. Two years ago, statewide voters approved such an expansion but local voters didn’t.
Supporters say the project will create jobs and generate revenue for the city while opponents counter that it will ruin their community. Three residents are suing the state to block the referendum.
Newport Grand opened nearly 40 years ago as a venue for jai alai. Paolino and two developers plan to buy it and spend $40 million turning it into an “entertainment complex” with restaurants, event space and a high-end spa, to remain competitive with other area casinos. They have not disclosed the purchase price.
The proposed expansion received a setback Wednesday when Newport City Council rejected a host agreement between the developers and the city. Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, who represents Newport and supported the table games referendum two years ago, cited the council’s vote in her decision not to support it this time.
Paolino, who is partnering with developers Peter de Savary and Paul Roiff, said the project is still moving forward. He maintains opponents of the casino do not understand the economic impact of forgoing the expansion since his project is estimated to create 350 jobs at the facility, plus construction jobs. And to those who say they don’t want a casino, Paolino said he points out that Newport Grand already is a casino with about 1,200 slot machines.
“I hate to tell them the bad news, but if this loses, they’ll still have a casino there,” he said. “The only thing that will be lost is a $40 million investment.”
One local group, Citizens Concerned About Casino Gambling, will soon be canvassing the city to convince residents to vote no. The group’s president, the Rev. Eugene McKenna, is a semi-retired Catholic priest who believes a full-fledged casino would degrade the area.
McKenna said the project would hinder plans to turn the city’s north end into an innovation hub that would create technology jobs, as well as hurt tourism and the local hospitality industry and cause more people to become addicted to gambling.
The bust of Atlantic City’s gambling economy is a cautionary tale, McKenna said.
“If you want to ruin a city, have a casino,” he said.
But Newport Mayor Harry Winthrop said the innovation hub is only a concept. He worries Newport Grand will eventually close if it is not revamped. Nearly 200 people would lose their jobs and the city would lose about $450,000 annually in gambling revenues, he added.
“I don’t really have a feeling one way or the other with respect to the gambling, only the revenues,” he said. “The revenues are good for the city.”
Winthrop supported the proposed agreement rejected by city council, which would have provided an extra $1 million to Newport over three years in addition to the $9 million in property tax relief guaranteed by state law.
Some councilors voted no because they are against the expansion of casino gambling. Another said the proposed deal had too many loopholes and should include an annual fee instead of a three-year commitment.
Paolino said the council’s rejection was election year politics and he plans to do most of what he said he would do in the agreement, plus donate to Newport charities. But instead of giving the $1 million payment to the city, he said he would invest up to $1 million in a fund for the innovation hub.
A former ambassador to Malta, Paolino has a summer home in Newport. But he does not gamble at Newport Grand because he is not a gambler.
“Doing a business venture like this is a gamble enough,” Paolino said.
