Trump, Johnston files lawsuit to block casino vote
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Blocked from building a casino in Rhode Island, a gaming company and Johnson's town government filed a federal lawsuit Friday trying to stop a vote that could award exclusive casino rights to a business rival.
Barring legal challenges, Rhode Islanders will vote in November on a constitutional amendment allowing the Narragansett Indian Tribe and its partner, Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment, to build a casino in West Warwick.
The lawsuit, filed by Ajax Gaming Ventures LLC and Johnston's town government, alleges the proposed casino amendment violates a provision in the U.S. Constitution requiring state governments to give all people equal protection under the law.
Ajax had been partnered with TER Ocean State Development Co. LLC, a subsidiary of Trump Entertainment Resorts Holdings LP. The agreement governing the partnership has since lapsed, said Preston Halperin, a lawyer for Ajax.
Ajax is asking a U.S. District Court judge to bar Secretary of State Matt Brown from putting the casino question on the ballot. A spokesman for Brown's office said it must finalize the ballot language by Aug. 9.
In a civil complaint, a lawyer for Ajax and Johnston calls the proposed amendment "plainly unconstitutional" because it awards a valuable right to a single community, West Warwick, and a single racial group, the Narragansett Indian Tribe, to the exclusion of all others.
Narragansett Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas disputed the arguments.
"The Tribe has spent 10 years conducting an open and fair process and now it's up to the people of Rhode Island; it's their choice," Thomas said in a written statement. "We hope that the federal courts would respect the right of the people to vote."
Earlier this year, Ajax secured an option to buy 110 acres in Johnston near the state landfill and proposed building a casino there.
Johnston lawmakers submitted a constitutional amendment that would have forced interested firms and communities to compete for a state license to operate a casino in Rhode Island. Members of the House Finance Committee effectively killed the proposal by tabling it.
Rep. Timothy Williamson, D-West Warwick, said his community was the only one that has bothered pitching casino proposals to the General Assembly until recently.
"The Town of West Warwick has been at this for eight years, while it has been comparatively about eight minutes for the Town of Johnston," he said in a written statement.
Last week, the Rhode Island Supreme Court declined to issue an advisory opinion on the legality of the casino amendment. Gov. Don Carcieri and Attorney General Patrick Lynch had requested the opinion and also questioned whether the amendment violated equal protection rights. |
