Projo Biz Blog

The owner of the Twin River slot parlor is unlikely to reach a new financing deal with its lenders before the current one expires at the end of the day, according to a slot parlor representative.

"I don't believe we will have an announcement today," said Patti Doyle, Twin River's spokeswoman. "We will be working through the weekend to get an agreement."

UTGR Inc., which owns the slot parlor in Lincoln, has been negotiating for months with its lenders to rework the $577 million in financing it has tied to Twin River's operations. The slot parlor has received one extension after another during the talks, with the latest one due to expire at midnight.

"They're not going to get it done today," she said.

The company, a subsidiary of BLB Investors LLC, missed a loan payment in March, prompting negotiations with its lenders and collection efforts by contractors who worked on the $225-million reconstruction project that transformed the aging Lincoln Park race track into Twin River.

UTGR and its lenders entered into a pact, known as a forbearance agreement, which allows the company to work out payment plans with its lenders and creditors.

Company representatives have used that time to improve profits at the slot parlor and negotiate with state officials over the terms of Twin River's revenue deal with the state.

Out of every dollar lost into one of the machines, the state gets close to 60 cents. If expectations play out, that would translate into $254,459,280 for the state this year. Gambling is the third-largest source of state revenue.

Rhode Island's economy is suffering, says Saul Kaplan, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

"We've been hit very hard by this economic downturn,'' Kaplan told about 230 business leaders, academics and others at a Bryant University's first annual Economic Summit.

There are two main reasons. First, Rhode Island enjoyed a "nice run-up" in the construction and related fields earlier this decade. When the housing crisis struck, "We got hit harder,'' he said.

Another factor: Rhode Island's economy hasn't made as much progress as has its two neighboring states - Massachusetts and Connecticut - in creating higher-paying jobs.

"Too much of our economy is tied up in lower-wage service" sector jobs, he said. The average annual wage of Rhode Island workers is $39,000, compared with the national average annual wage of $42,000 - even though Rhode Island is in the high-cost Northeast section of the country, Kaplan said.

The state needs to work at creating more jobs in higher-paying sectors, such as health and life sciences, information technology and digital media, Kaplan said.

"We need a pipeline of skills and experience" that fits the 21st century knowledge-based economy, Kaplan said.

Rhode Island Auditor General Ernest A. Almonte will soon become chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the professional organization for about 334,000 CPAs nationwide.

Almonte, a CPA who holds a bachelor's degree and master's degree from Bryant University in Smithfield, is the first AICPA chairman to come from the government sector, said former U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker.

Almonte is currently the AICPA's vice chairman. He takes over the AICPA chairman's seat in October for a one-year term.

America is in a $53 trillion financial hole, but few of the nation's leaders - including the two leading presidential candidates - are willing to grapple with it, says former U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker.

Besides an $11 trillion debt, the country is also saddled with $34 trillion in unfunded Medicare promises, $7 trillion in unfunded Social Security promises, and $1 trillion in miscellaneous debts, Walker said at an economic summit at Bryant University in Smithfield.

Even if the annual federal budget is balanced, the overall debt will continue to grow unless voters hold elected leaders accountable and demand solutions, said Walker, former head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the watchdog arm of Congress.

Walker now serves as president and chief executive officer of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in New York, traveling the country to raise awareness of the nation's debts. He also plays a key role in a new documentary film, I.O.U.S.A, now playing in select theaters nationwide.

The nation's overall debt is "unbelievably scary,'' said Ronald K. Machtley, Bryant's president and a former member of Congress. "We are spending more than we can possibly generate'' in revenue, Machtley said.

Bryant sponsored the summit to "share our intellectual resources with the community,'' Machtley said. About 230 business leaders, academics, students and elected officials attended, said Raymond W. Fogarty, director of Bryant's Chafee Center for International Business.

Providence should become a national model for preventative health care and related products and services - and a regional leader in rehabilitation services, says Laurie White, head of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber, working with the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, has been involved in a months-long study to determine which of Providence's strengths can be best leveraged to create high-paying jobs and boost the economy of the city and state.

Details will be officially unveiled at a "town hall" style meeting Oct. 8 in Providence. But White offered a preview today during a speech at an economic summit at Bryant University in Smithfield.

By linking and promoting the expertise and knowledge at its hospitals, universities and other resources, the Providence area could become a model for health-related services and products - as well as an international leader in producing solutions for environmental and energy challenges, she said.

Providence should also become an international leader in the design and management of hospitals, restaurants and other specialty facilities, she said.

The Washington Trust Company has issued new MasterCard-branded credit and debit cards to 963 customers after the card company alerted the bank that the customers' account information was in a computer database that might have been compromised.

MasterCard had no evidence that Washington Trust's customer's cards had been used fraudulently, according to Michael Rauh, Washington Trust's executive vice president. "Nothing happened to the cards. Nothing happened to the accounts. Nothing happened to the customers," he said. He said the bank chose to reissue the cards "out of an abundance of caution."

Even if Washington Trust's customers' accounts had been used fraudulently, the customers would not have been held liable for any transactions, Rauh said. "You call up and say, 'I didn't do this,' and you get the money back."

The bank sent letters to affected customers, he said.

MasterCard did not tell the bank whether the database belonged to MasterCard or to a merchant who accepts MasterCard, according to Rauh.

The database was not Washington Trust's, Rauh said. Whatever security issue occurred, it didn't happen at the Westerly-based bank. "There was no hacker. There was no breach."

Rauh also said MasterCard did not provide details of when or how the card numbers were compromised. "They don't know if the bad people got one name or a million names," said Rauh.

A spokeswoman from MasterCard did not return a call from The Providence Journal today.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Edward Parker

Journal photo / Bob Thayer
Joseph Faria of Warren caulks along the edges of large cutouts atop the Nitro Antiques shop across from Cutler Mills on Child Street in Warren today. A large eagle will be placed in this area.