Flip this Casino: Newport Grand to be Sold to Twin River Group

Former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. has said that he doesn’t gamble at casinos.

He sure seems to know how to make good bets buying and selling them, though.

Even before Paolino’s purchase of the Newport Grand slots parlor has closed, he and the owner of the Twin River casino in Lincoln announced Wednesday that Twin River is buying Newport Grand from Paolino and his business partner, Paul Roiff.

Twin River Management Group, which operates the Twin River casino in Lincoln, said that it had entered into an agreement with Newport Entertainment and Leisure to buy the purchase and sales agreement to acquire the slot parlor and former Newport Jai Alai from longtime owner Diane Hurley.

The deal is expected to close by June 30 and is subject to regulatory approval.

No purchase amounts have been released.

In a statement, John E. Taylor Jr., chairman of the board of directors of Twin River Worldwide Holdings, said “we understand how important the future of Newport Grand is to the State and when the acquisition opportunity presented itself, believed that we might be best qualified to preserve and possibly enhance that revenue and protect valuable jobs.”

The merger of the state’s two gambling facilities presents “significant synergies that exist” between both operations, Taylor said, and there will be major cost savings through shared marketing, technical integration and “cooperative dollars that would allow for maximization of future revenues.”

Paolino led a push for voter approval of table games at Newport Grand last year leading up to the November election. Newport voters rejected two ballot questions that would have paved the way for the slot parlor to evolve into a full-fledged casino and Paolino’s proposal included promises to convert the existing building into a luxury, Monte Carlo-esque high end resort with entertainment.

During the campaign, Paolino said that the vision wouldn’t make financial sense without table games. Subsequent to the failed ballot referendums, Paolino said he still wanted to spearhead the Newport Entertainment Center plan and was in talks to buy Newport Grand anyway.

Now, Newporters, wary of another casino fight, are getting promises from Twin River officials that there won’t be another request for table games.

“We are well aware of the fact that the Newport community is not now in favor of any expansion of gaming at Newport Grand and may never be,” Taylor said. “While we believe that would aid considerably in the property’s long term ability to compete in an increasingly challenging gaming marketplace, we will respect the wishes of the community.”

The potential consolidation of casino interests in Rhode Island could also be considered a defensive move as full casinos open in neighboring Massachusetts.

“What was believed to be a total of three destination casinos in Massachusetts is actually four. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts entered into a Compact with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in 2013 for land it purchased in Taunton and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is now poised to award another in the Southeastern zone as early as this May,” Taylor said.

Paolino said the interest of Newport Entertainment and Leisure, the entity he and Roiff formed to buy Newport Grand, was first and foremost to protect “an important economic generator for the state and to save and protect the jobs of the hard working people employed there.”

“Since the November election, we have considered many options as to who would best manage the property, while taking into consideration the wishes of Newport residents,” Paolino said. “Because of our commitment to keep local ownership, we felt that Twin River would be best suited for the job, especially since they agreed not to go back to the people of Newport for another table game vote.”

Newport Grand employs about 175 people and generates about $26 million annually for the state, Paolino said.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

Newport Grand has 1,100 slot machines, video poker terminals along with music and comedy entertainment.

Twin River Worldwide Holdings owns Twin River casino along with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. They also own Arapahoe Park, a horse racetrack outside Denver, Colorado.