R.I. panel OKs ballot question on casino

Michael Mello

Wednesday, May 22, 2002 | 9:54 a.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Narragansett Indians' bid to build a casino in West Warwick received a boost Tuesday from a key Senate panel.

The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved letting voters in November decide whether a gambling facility can be built in West Warwick.

The panel's 10-2 vote sends the bill to the full Senate.

The House has approved a committee to study expanded gambling in the state that would not report back until next year.

The Narragansett tribe saw the commission's formation as an attempt to kill its effort to get a referendum question on this year's ballot.

West Warwick Rep. Tim Williamson said that if the full Senate approves the ballot question, House leaders will be forced to reconsider it.

"Like everything else, it would become a negotiating tool between the House and Senate," said Williamson, a Democrat.

The proposal still faces an uphill fight. House leaders have stated their preference to take their time studying gambling.

Gov. Lincoln Almond, a Republican, also opposes development of any casino in the state.

Nonetheless, Matthew Thomas, the tribe's chief sachem, was ecstatic with the Senate panel's support.

"I'm numb. I'm not used to victory," he said.

The tribe last week pitched a proposal to the committee that includes a two-story casino with a 220-room hotel tower, 2,700 slot machines, 96 gaming tables, 10 movie theaters, a bowling alley, a convention center and restaurants. Boyd Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas would finance the construction.

The proposal was a slimmed down version of a plan the House Finance Committee killed two years ago by failing to support the referendum question.

Senate Finance Chairman Frank Caprio, D-Providence, said he voted for the proposal because he felt voters deserve to be heard on the project.

He said lawmakers would still retain control over regulating a casino, if voters approved the general referendum question.

The question asks whether voters approve establishing a gambling facility and/or activity in West Warwick. Voters must approve development of any casino in the state.

Boyd has exclusive rights to develop a casino in the town for two years.