OP ED: Tiverton Casino Seems Inevitable to Me

By Joshua Botvin

Last night I attended (worked) an event held at the restaurant from which I receive the money to afford me the extravagancies in life, like groceries. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the town of Tiverton’s top union representatives to the idea of building a casino within the confines of the small area.

Over the course of the night, I slyly pretended I was there to serve drinks and clean up their garbage, when in actuality I was there to schmooze my way into valuable information, on top of serving drinks and cleaning garbage. What I found was not quite as revealing or dastardly as you would expect, but in actuality a solid foundation for a construction project that will most likely be a reality.

The small community of Tiverton is relatively unreceptive to the idea of change, and will be faced with two monumental decisions in their near future: the possibility of the “Tiverton Glen,” an outdoor shopping center that naysayers are declaring as the New Harbor Mall, but in actuality would be a rather upscale tourist attraction, and a tribal casino built and run by the owners of Twin River in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

The group of burly, yet perceptive laborers was highly receptive to the idea, though very much concerned with the negative impacts the casino may have on the residents’ simpler way of life. To these concerns, John Taylor, chairman of the casino and conductor of the meeting, responded with calm pacification. By presenting the facts that the casino would be a third of the size of Twin River, would not increase the town’s police force or fire department, and would statistically only have a single minor, nonviolent “incident” per week - handled within the confines of the complex – Taylor was able to win over a majority of the group.

Although there is still a significant amount of work left to do, the proposal seems to be gaining steam. With its location ideally placed directly on the boarder of neighboring Fall River, in a highly undevelopable plot of land, the proposal hopes to not only appease the town’s concerns regarding traffic increases and damage to infrastructure, but to keep the heart of the community as it always has been: that of a small, undisturbed town.

Additionally, the increased tax revenue and influx of jobs when divided amongst such a staggeringly small population (less than 16,000) is the cherry on top of this seemingly sweet deal. Though many people believe Tiverton wants to remain a blissful relic of the good ol’ days, the reality of this proposal coming to fruition seems more likely than not.