Garish SLOTS Sign on Newport Grand is No More

Whether you’re a fan of Twin River Management Group’s plan to move Newport Grand’s operations to Tiverton or not, few people will take issue with the company’s recent action on Thursday.

Officials from Twin River, along with local officials and curious bystanders gathered in the parking lot outside Newport Grand to watch the garish red SLOTS sign emblazoned on the front of the slot parlor come down.

It was a promise made by Twin River Management Group when they bought the slot parlor earlier this year.

The 11-foot tall letters were plucked one by one and before long, all that was left was some discoloration on the green front of the building.

Mayor Jeanne Marie Napolitano said that she along with most everyone in Newport had hoped to see the sign go down.

“I doesn’t look right,” Napolitano told WPRO of the sign.

The sign was one of the prominent features of Newport’s gateway and clearly visible from the Claiborne Pell Bridge.

Many felt that the sign detracted from Newport’s otherwise scenic vistas afforded from the bridge and the water.

Twin River Spokeswoman Patti Doyle said Twin River was happy to take the sign down, not just to make people happy, but because they agreed it wasn’t the nicest thing to look at.

“We didn’t think it was representative of the nice entry to the city of Newport,” she said.

Meanwhile Twin River continues to host public meetings and workshops to discuss their plan to move Newport Grand’s operations to Tiverton and build a new complex there.

That plan will include a pitch for table games to compete with other casinos in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Voters will have to approve the plan, both statewide and in Tiverton. Tiverton voters would have final say, much like how Newport voters shot down plans to add table games at Newport Grand two times.

Newport Grand has been a bit of a hot potato as of late, having been scooped up by former Providence Mayor and prominent Rhode Island developer and investor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. from the Hurley family last year. He subsequently flipped his interest in the slot parlor to Twin River in March.

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.

Photos courtesy: Twin River Management Group