State agency gives license to new Lincoln Park owners

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Monday, Aug. 1, 2005 | 9:34 a.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state has quietly awarded a video-slot license to the new owners of the Lincoln Park greyhound track and gambling center.

The interim director of the new Division of State Lottery, Beverly E. Najarian, granted the license Monday to BLB Investors, which bought Lincoln Park on July 18.

The license, which allows a subsidiary of BLB Investors to operate up to 4,752 video lottery terminals at the park, is worth $114.5 million this year and a projected $5.3 billion over the next 15 years.

Wembley PLC, the park's British parent company, sold the race track and other U.S. assets to BLB Investors for $435 million.

Najarian, who is also director of the state Department of Administration, signed the license without public hearings, though previous proposals to expand gambling facilities were often publicly debated before the now-defunct Lottery Commission.