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Harrah's Entertainment and the Narragansett Indian tribe brought the traveling road show known as "Rhode Islanders for Jobs and Tax Relief" to Aquidneck Island on Wednesday.
The partnership trying to build a casino in West Warwick came at the request of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce. The forum was the first of two the chamber intends to present on the subject. Casino opponents will present their case Sept. 25.
On Nov. 7, Rhode Island voters will consider a referendum that would add to the state constitution a provision that would allow the Harrah's-Narragansett team to build a casino in West Warwick. The state Supreme Court has ruled that the constitution now allows only state-operated gambling.
If voters approve the casino referendum, the $1 billion project would create 3,800 permanent jobs and provide $144 million a year in property tax relief for the state's 39 cities and towns, Jan L. Jones, senior vice president of communications and governmental relations for Harrah's, told chamber members.
Jones tried to alleviate concerns that a casino would cannibalize business and employees from existing hospitality businesses. The West Warwick casino would be a "destination resort," Jones said, attracting millions of customers from outside the state who would not otherwise come to Rhode Island. To entice people to come here, Harrah's would tout Rhode Island attractions in its marketing, Jones said, thereby enhancing existing businesses.
"You have reasons people want to come here, but they're not coming here because you don't have the (destination casino)," Jones told members during the luncheon held at Atlantic Beach Club.
Plans for the proposed casino have not changed from those presented to the General Assembly earlier this year. Harrah's would spend $1 billion to build the facility, including $45 million for on- and off-ramps from Route 95 to the casino. The facility would include a 500-room hotel, 3,500 slot machines, 100 table games, 50 poker tables, a full-service spa and pool, a 55,000-square-foot ballroom/meeting space, several food and beverage outlets and retail space, Jones said.
Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas outlined his tribe's unsuccessful attempts to build a gambling facility in Rhode Island, beginning with an effort to build a high-stakes bingo hall on tribal land in 1992. Thomas insisted that the tribe always has followed the rules, but the state has continually changed the rules in an effort to thwart the tribe's plans.
Thomas also dismissed the argument that any Rhode Island casino license should be put out to competitive bidding. Since 1994, when there were five casino questions on the ballot, the tribe has been the only entity seeking a casino, Thomas said. He dismissed Donald Trump's "11th hour" proposal this year to build a casino in Johnston, likening it to a children's story he heard as a youngster entitled "The Chicken and the Bread."
"Nobody wanted to help that chicken cook the bread, but when it was done, they all wanted to help him eat it," Thomas said.
During the question-and-answer session after her presentation, Jones said the promised $144 million in property tax relief would not be realized until the third year of operation. She also said the figure was a Harrah's projection and that it was only an estimate because the casino tax rate would not be negotiated with the General Assembly until a casino referendum is approved.
TO GO
Part II of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce's two-part Economic Update on the Rhode Island casino issue will take place Monday, Sept. 25, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at Atlantic Beach Club in Middletown. Panelists will include members of Concerned Citizens Against Casino Gambling and Save Our State.
The cost is $25. To register, call 847-1608.
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