Some Rhode Islanders say casino is only way to help old mill town

Gillian Flynn

Sunday, May 7, 2000 | 8:49 a.m.

WEST WARWICK, R.I. - Most supporters of a casino plan for this old mill town aren't dreaming of golden riches.

They just want lower taxes, more jobs and a downtown filled with stores.

The Narragansett Indians, thwarted for years by casino opponents, are now seeking state approval for a more than $500 million glass-and-steel gambling palace in West Warwick.

Casino foes say the Narragansetts, seeking any edge, chose the town because it is poor and desperate for help.

"We've got nothing here," said longtime resident Eileen Theroux, eating lunch recently at a downtown diner. "It's dead."

West Warwick was established in 1913, when its textile factories were thriving. Now, the town is scarred by abandoned mills and the dozen empty storefronts on Main Street, some with crumbling facades. A large vacant lot marks the center of downtown where the old theater once stood. Last week, a fire destroyed half a downtown block, gutting six storefronts.

The gambling hall would create 1,000 construction jobs, nearly 3,000 casino jobs and $640 million in annual state revenue, with $18 million slated for West Warwick, according to Boyd Gaming, a Las Vegas company providing financial backing for the project.

"This is the big chance for West Warwick. General Motors isn't going to move here. Microsoft isn't going to move here," said Michael Levesque, former Warwick mayor and co-founder of the pro-casino group West Warwick 2000.

But others believe the casino offers false hope to residents, many of whom are senior citizens who want their taxes cut. The town has the state's fourth-highest tax rate. The average income is $14,500 and nearly half of its housing is rental properties, Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer said.

"How would you feel if someone offered to cut your taxes in half?" Bauer said.

Stephen Earley, a member of the anti-gambling group CasiNO! 2000, said some residents, dazzled by the financial benefits, aren't considering the possible damage to the town.

"People think it's a godsend. If anything, it's going to breed crime and push the tax bills up even further," Earley said.

The tribe, which has a reservation in Charlestown, settled on West Warwick last year after failing to win approval for a casino in East Greenwich and Providence. West Warwick voters approved a casino proposal in a nonbinding referendum by a 2-to-1 margin last summer.

However, the Narragansetts need statewide support.

Unlike other federally recognized tribes, the Narragansetts are subject to state gambling law, which requires any casino proposal be approved by voters. The tribe said the law violates their constitutional rights, but the agreement was upheld last year by a federal court of appeals.

The tribe must convince the House Finance Committee, then the General Assembly, to put the casino proposal referendum on the November ballot.

Gov. Lincoln Almond, a longtime gambling foe, has promised to oppose the project. If he vetos the bill, 60 percent of the House and Senate would have to vote to override him.

In 1994, voters turned down proposed casinos in five different communities.

The tribe hopes this year will be different and they're looking to West Warwick residents to help them win support.

The Narragansetts are making an agreement with the town that residents will be offered casino jobs only second to the tribe. The deal also includes a commitment to help the town's infrastructure, which has been vastly ignored through the years.

The casino and a hotel would be built on a 60-acre parcel of private land just off Interstate 95. The site is near an industrial park and a residential area, too close to homes and an elementary school, opponents say. It is designed to compete with the Indian-run Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.

Guy Dufault, the tribe's lobbyist, said the location is perfect. West Warwick is only a half-hour drive from Newport, 20 minutes from Providence and a five-minute drive from T.F. Green Airport.

Some don't share Dufault's enthusiasm.

West Warwick businessman Jack Coogan is among those who oppose the casino, despite the dying town economy forcing him to close his shoe store after 30 years. He recalls the days before the malls were built in nearby Warwick - when Main Street was busy and he employed a four-man staff. Now, he works alone in a store draped with sale signs.

"There are days when you see six customers. Sometimes, maybe you don't see anybody," Coogan said.

But Coogan thinks the casino will lure even more business away from the one-way street where Town Hall and the police station are located.

"I don't think the casino will put any more money in the people's pockets here. It's going to create a few jobs, maybe," Coogan said.

Dick Pelletier, who has owned Dick's Barber Shop on Main Street for 40 years, disagrees. He said the state should do something to attract Connecticut-bound gamblers.

"They're coming from Canada, New Hampshire and Cape Cod. They all go through us and go to Connecticut," Pelletier said.

Many West Warwick residents say their interests and those of the Narragansetts overlap. More than 25 percent of the 2,500-member tribe lives below the poverty line and many are out of work. The Narragansetts say they are fighting for survival. West Warwick is too, casino supporters say.

"The Narragansett tribe has been persecuted long enough and it's time to stop it. West Warwick has its own problems and we're trying to pull ourselves up by the boot straps," Levesque said. "It's literally a marriage made in heaven."