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Lincoln Park and Newport Grand have joined the anti-casino Save Our State Coalition in a big way, with each kicking in a half-million dollars they hope will help stave off competition from a Harrah's Narragansett Indian casino in West Warwick.
The two homes of state-operated video slot parlors said they are teaming up with SOS to defeat ballot question 1 on the November ballot because "the Harrah's proposal will give the Las Vegas corporation an unfair competitive advantage and cost R.I. taxpayers millions of dollars in lost revenue."
The ballot question would amend the R.I. Constitution to allow a privately owned and operated casino connected to the Narragansett Indian Tribe.
Meanwhile, a new poll shows public opinion slightly favoring approval of the casino amendment 49 to 43 percent with 8 percent undecided.
The poll shows that voters would be more comfortable with the idea, however, if it didn't involve amending the constitution. In that case, the casino question would be approved 53 to 36 percent with 11 percent undecided.
The telephone poll of 401 registered likely Rhode Island voters was taken Aug. 16-21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
Pollster Joseph Fleming of Fleming and Associates, who conducted the poll for WPRI-TV, said the numbers paint a picture of "a fairly close race," that still can be pushed one way or the other by the "millions of dollars that are going to be spent on both sides."
He noted that at the time the poll was taken, the pro-casino forces were already spending heavily with newspaper, radio and TV advertising, while the anti-casino side has yet to start spending on its advertising blitz.
He predicted that both sides will do polling to find the messages that best serve their cause. The pro-casino people will probably lead with promises of jobs and tax relief, as they have been doing, he said, and the anti-casino people will question whether people really want to amend the constitution for a casino and suggest a casino will decrease the revenue the state already gets from Lincoln Park and Newport Grand.
"We joined SOS because we all believe that together we are a united front to educate people of Rhode Island that this is a bad deal and the reasons why," said Lincoln Park spokeswoman Cynthia Stern. "Why not join up people who we tried to protect when we had our negotiations with the General Assembly?"
During discussions with legislative leaders, Stern said, officials from BLB, the new owners of Lincoln Park, pledged not to be in competition with places like the Providence Performing Arts Center, the Dunkin Donuts Center, the R.I. Convention Center and the Biltmore Hotel.
Amy Kempe, spokeswoman for Newport Grand, said that company is "absolutely" comfortable joining a group formed specifically to fight a casino. She downplayed reports that former SOS chairman Richard Oster left the group because it was anti-casino in general, while he opposed only the specific deal represented by the constitutional amendment that is Question 1.
"We were very impressed by (new SOS chairman) Lincoln Almond's comments welcoming Lincoln Park and Newport Grand to Save our State," she said.
Narragansett Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas noted Almond's statements as well.
"Two weeks ago, Lincoln Almond claimed that the organization cynically named 'Save Our State' was opposed to all casinos," Thomas noted, adding that now "his group is really just a front for other casino companies, and their real motto is Save Our Slots."
Their only interest is their own self-interest, he said. As of today, every major organization that opposes the Narragansett Indian Casino is being funded by casinos with an interest in protecting the status quo... and their own bottom lines.
"It's not a surprise that Lincoln and Newport Grand oppose the Narragansett Indian Casino," Thomas said in a written statement. "They want to save their profits. And it's not a surprise that Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun oppose the Narragansett Indian Casino. They want to keep pulling revenues and jobs out of Rhode Island, into Connecticut."
In an interview with The Times, Thomas recalled that Almond once called video slot machines "'the crack cocaine of society'. Now he is taking money from them, maybe he's addicted to it."
"You are always against something until you get money from it, I guess," Thomas said "We welcome Lincoln Park and Newport Grand with open arms," said former Gov. Lincoln Almond, chairman of SOS. "We need the support of these two institutions and many more businesses in Rhode Island who need to protect themselves from the attrition of jobs and revenue that would be caused by Harrah's."
"Harrah's is a behemoth," said Almond. "They purchased $2 million in advertising just last month alone. We need and are grateful for the support of Newport Grand and Lincoln Park so that we can effectively educate Rhode Islanders about what a bad deal this casino is for our beloved state."
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