NO to Newport, RI Casinos

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Parts of Twin River's application for Newport Grand permit kept secret

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In a hearing scheduled on June 25 — the final day of the General Assembly's session — a state

Slimier and Slimier..

important information is hidden from the public and, even with all this redaction, it is clear that benefits continue to accrue to both Joe Paolino and Diane Hurley when Newport Grand’s license moves to Tiverton and the Newport Property is sold by the Twin Rivers Group.  

Why can’t this state shine a public light on its relationship with the gambling industry, so that people can see who’s involved, what their background is and what their possible conflicts of interest might be.  

We wonder why we have trouble attracting legitimate businesses to RI.  To Gina and our legislators: we need clear and open transparency as well as serious reform, especially as it relates to conflict of interest in the upper levels of state government!

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Sign the petition.  Change our government’s dependence on gambling as a source of revenue.

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Newport Anti-Casino Group Says They'll Remain Engaged after Newport Grand Sale

Citizens Concerned Against Casino Gambling have responded to the announcement that Newport Grand will be sold to Twin River.

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Twin River Management Group to purchase Newport Grand

The sale is expected to close no later than June 30 and is subject to regulatory approvals, as well as other closing conditions.

So...Peter, Paul and Joe want to do the right thing by Newport! Sure they do!

[nonewportcasinos]

A Sucker’s Game for New York

The New York Times

The Opinion Pages | EDITORIAL

A Sucker’s Game for New York

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD DEC. 19, 2014

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York’s pliable Legislature kowtowed to the gambling industry last year and, using loaded language on the ballot referendum, tricked the electorate into changing the State Constitution to allow casino gambling on the dubious premise that it would bolster the state economy.

Taking this dangerously flawed concept another step forward, the Cuomo administration on Wednesday awarded permits for three huge casino operations in upstate New York. Fortunately, it rejected the worst of the 16 proposals the gambling industry put forward — a thoroughly misguided plan for a massive casino complex adjacent to Sterling Forest, an important watershed and recreational area only 40 miles from New York City. It instead chose one site near Albany, in Schenectady; one near Monticello, next to the former home of a fabled Catskills resort; and one in the Finger Lakes area of Tyre.

Meanwhile, as a result of a wholly separate deal between Mr. Cuomo and a powerful Senate Republican, Dean Skelos, two huge slot parlors, each holding 1,000 slot machines, will soon appear in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Neither will offer the Vegas style glitz of the upstate resorts, but both will be no less efficient in vacuuming the pockets of the poor.

Slot parlors are a wretched deal for most communities, and it is even more appalling to see them used as life support for Long Island’s Off Track Betting Corporations, which are patronage schemes tied to an ailing horseracing industry. Nassau County, having been run into a financial ditch under Republican leadership, is under a financial control board and is desperate for cash. Suffolk’s Off Track Betting Corporation, which is emerging from bankruptcy, is similarly itching for a cash infusion.

Taken together, the three upstate casinos and the two Long Island slot parlors mean that the glut of gambling facilities in the Northeast is about to get much, much worse. The regional gambling market is already brutally competitive. Four of Atlantic City’s 12 casinos have closed, and a fifth filed for bankruptcy last month. The big tribal casinos in Connecticut are faltering.

There are already five tribal casinos in upstate New York and nine slot parlors at state racetracks. The idea that five new facilities can bring in sustainable revenue seems the stuff of fantasy.

What Long Island and upstate New York need is a government that nurtures responsible growth while also tending to the interests of the working class, the elderly and the poor. Instead, its elected officials are addicted to quick fixes and seemingly painless revenue streams. Legalized gambling is one of those illusions, pushed as a source of economic development by politicians who can’t come up with anything better.

Meet The New York Times’s Editorial Board »A version of this editorial appears in print on December 20, 2014, on page A20 of the New York edition with the headline: A Sucker’s Game for New York.

© 2014 The New York Times Company

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Our Leaders don't seem to be able to understand that gambling leads us nowhere and preys upon the less fortunate!

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Boston FBI Warns of Casino Corruption

The head of the FBI's Boston office said Monday he's concerned the expansion of casino gambling might lead to an increase in public corruption and financial and organized crime.

No Surprise Here!   Let's make sure that Newport stays away from these problems.

[nonewportcasinos]

The Best and Worst Run States in America: A Survey of All 50

41. Alabama > Debt per capita: $1,804 (7th lowest) > Credit Rating (S&P/Moody’s): AA/Aa1 > 2013 unemployment rate: 6.5% (18th lowest) > Median household income: $42,849 (4th lowest) > Poverty rate: 18.7% (7th highest) Like many other states at the bottom of the list, Alabama residents are quite poor. More than 10% of households in […]

47. Rhode Island > Debt per capita: $8,761 (3rd highest) > Credit Rating (S&P/Moody’s): AA/Aa2 > 2013 unemployment rate: 9.5% (2nd highest) > Median household income: $55,902 (18th highest) > Poverty rate: 14.3% (24th lowest)

Rhode Island is one of only two states that declined in population in recent years. The total state population dropped by more than 1,000 between April 2010 and July 2013. Driving this change was the fact that more people left than relocated to Rhode Island. A poor job market may account for part of the exodus — 9.5% of the state’s workforce was unemployed as of last year, the second highest rate nationwide. A typical home in the area was worth $232,300 in 2013, one of the highest median values in the nation. However, this was after a 13% decrease from 2009, nearly the worst drop in property values nationwide. Rhode Island’s state debt level totalled 116% of revenue in fiscal 2012, one of only a few states where debt levels exceeded a year of revenue.

Rhode Island is ranked near the bottom of best run states in the nation.  This is in spite of its location on the ocean between the population centers of Boston and New York.  

We lay the blame for this directly on our legislature, which is one of the most powerful in the nation.  We're hopeful that Gina Raimundo can make a difference, but I worry that we need to change the way our state is run and the characters who have been running it for years.  We need Legislators who look out for the best interests of the state as a whole, not only for themselves and their constituencies. We need to come together for change. The proof of the need to change what we are doing is in our state management ranking!

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Watch John Oliver explain how the government seduces Americans to spend huge on the lottery

Americans spent $68 billion on the lottery last year, "which means Americans basically spent more on the lottery than they spent on America."

John Oliver exposes the hypocrisy in our government sponsored gambling.

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Bring Good Jobs in Growing Industries to our State

Thanks to Newport Voters for voting down expanded gambling in Newport!  Our opposition said that the vote was all about jobs, but it was all about gambling.  We desperately need to bring good jobs to our state, so that we can break our state's regressive dependency on declining gambling revenues that are based on our citizens' losses. I am hopeful with the election of Gina and Jorge that we will be able to change our state's image of corruption and high taxes to become a positive place for business. This is how we will boost our jobs - with healthy real jobs in growing industries! RI has so much to offer and rather than being stuck in the past, together we can make these much needed changes happen!

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Newport voters say no dice

Pro-gaming referendum is defeated by a resounding margin

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Newport voters again say no dice to table games / Map

No dice will roll at Newport Grand any time soon.City voters rejected a proposal to add table games at the facility for the second time in two years.As of 10:30 p.m., unofficial results showed that statewide...

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The Westerly Sun is a local print and digital daily newspaper covering all local news, sports and community events in the Southern Rhode Island and Southeastern Connecticut area

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Thanks to everyone who came out to vote yesterday!  It is important that our voices be heard and gratifying to see that the money spent on a campaign is not the only determinate in an election.  The voters do care and can vote for the long term good of the community.  THANK YOU!

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THE NEWPORT VOTERS REJECTED THE EXPANSION OF NEWPORT GRAND BY AROUND 1000 VOTES!!!  CONGRATULATIONS TO THE VOTERS OF NEWPORT.  $905,000 WAS SPENT BY THE PRO-CASINO GROUP TO PUSH THIS EXPANSION THROUGH VS. $186,000 BY THE ANTI-CASINO EXPANSION GROUP!!   Democracy in action!  This helps restore belief in our form of government!

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A lot of people have asked me about how to vote on Question 2 - the Daily News in their editorial today did a good job explaining the details.  I’ve included the full editorial from the Daily News as well. Kudus to the editorial board, well put explanation of how we should vote on Tuesday.  NO TO BOTH QUESTIONS 1&2 ON TUESDAY!

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Today's the day! Make sure you get out and vote!

Please vote NO on questions 1 and 2 today!  This is critical!

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Providence is trying to control Newport through gambling.

Citizens of Newport should be very concerned about what happens if the expanded Newport Grand is approved and  Providence starts setting the rules, because the business of gambling falls under the auspices of the State Legislature, and local zoning no longer applies.  Providence will also be taking over 60% of all gaming proceeds, with very little coming back to Newport.  We Newporters have never been willing to put ourselves in this position, but if "Jobs for Newport" wins the vote, Newporters will be subjected to the will of Providence, and once they have this power, we will not get it back.

A recent letter written by Laurice Shaw became front page news and the "Jobs  For Newport" group keeps citing this as an example of lies and rumors.  Several times on WADK radio, Joe Paolino mentioned that Newport Grand sits on 30 acres.  Wondering where this 30 acres is located (Newport Grand is sited on a 13 acre lot), Ms Shaw was speculating about the possibility of Newport Grand purchasing and annexing the abutting 17 acre Malbone Estate, which would give Newport Grand a gambling campus of 30 acres.  Additionally, if the sale of Newport Grand includes the two lots owned by Newport Jai Alai, LLC, (one has 4.54 acres and the other has 5.77 acres), this would add 10 plus more acres to Newport Grand.  Anyone can go to http://visionappraisal.com and look under Newport Jai Alai, LLC to see details about the properties on Admiral Kalbfus and Malbone Roads.