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February 7, 2008

Update: SRO crowd at hearing on 24-hour gambling

NEWPORT -- At a standing-room-only hearing this evening on bills that would expand gambling hours, almost everyone who spoke opposed the proposal. The exceptions: Twin River and Newport Grand slot parlor representatives, the lawmaker who introduced the main bill and a union representative.

About 150 people filled the Old Colony House in Newport, where the House Finance Committee held its hearing on two bills. The hearing stretched more than two hours.

Rep. William San Bento, prime sponsor of the bill to expand to round-the-clock gambling at the two parlors, said he supports it to generate more revenue for the state.

A Teamsters official expressed support, saying it would create more jobs.

On the agenda were two bills dealing with proposed 24-hour gambling at Twin River and at Newport Grand. One is House bill 7040, which would allow video lottery games to run 24 hours a day at Newport Grand and Twin River, with revenue from the additional hours going to the state's general fund.

The other bill, House 7161, would mandate approval from voters in host communties and from the state's electors if video lottery game expansion is sought between 1 and 8 a.m.

Extra: Read the Twin River representative's full prepared remarks and see projections on revenue.

Read more about the legislative proposals in today's Journal story.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Alex Kuffner

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 7:28 PM | Permalink

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