A new casino in Tiverton, Rhode Island opening Saturday is the latest in a regional race for gambling dollars. Twin River, which already runs a casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island, is opening its newest casino just across the Massachusetts border.
Tiverton Casino Hotel will feature 1,000 slot machines and 32 table games, as well as restaurants and an 84-room hotel.
Twin River closed its Newport Grand Casino slots parlor earlier this week in order to transfer its license to the new Tiverton location.
Providence College Business Professor Patrick Kelly estimates that about half of gamblers at Rhode Island casinos come from Massachusetts. “I think it is the hope of Twin River that having a casino right on the border in Tiverton, they will attract Massachusetts residents from Fall River and New Bedford," he said.
Massachusetts officials are trying to prevent that money from leaving the state.
In addition to already-opened casinos in Springfield and Plainville, as well as one slated to open next year in Everett, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission may still consider proposals for a casino in the Southeastern part of the state. The gaming commission rejected a casino proposal in Brockton back in the April 2016, but the developer, Rush Street Gaming, is now asking the commission to reconsider.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is also trying clear legal hurdles that have prevented it from opening a casino in Taunton.
"I think Rhode Island looked at that and said having a resort style casino in that area could have an adverse impact on the Twin River numbers,” said Lasell College Professor Paul Debole, who studies casinos and public policy. “And at the same time, they had that facility in Newport that wasn't really performing. And it's like ‘OK, let’s see if we can maintain Twin River's market share, and also have a newer, better facility.’"
