Rhode Island is the newest member in the growing list of US States in the northeast that are planning to expand their casino gaming options. Lawmakers in both the Rhode Island House and Senate have approved the bills that would allow casino table games at the two licensed gaming facilities in Rhode Island on June 11th, 2010.
Governor Don Carcieri will now receive the bill and will have to decide whether state voters will have an involvement in the process. No matter what will be the result, the area where the two casinos operate will have to pass the proposal. The House approved their bill in 62-12 vote and the Senate bill approved their bill in a 21-14 vote.
The gaming issue has become a hot one in the northeastern area of US and Rhode Island legislators had to move fast track their efforts to expand gaming in their slot parlors. Neighboring states like Massachusetts is planning to construct casino resorts and Rhode Island lawmakers are concerned that their slots facilities would lose players to Massachusetts because they do not offer casino table games.
The Twin River casino in Lincoln and the Newport Grand in Newport are the two slots facilities that will receive the chance of earning additional gaming revenue from casino table games. Last month, Twin River received the go signal from Governor Carcieri to no longer feature greyhound racing after years of offering it to their customers.
The facility wants to focus its attention on casino gaming. Currently, the two gaming facilities offer their customers virtual blackjack and video lottery terminals. With the gaming bills, the facilities can now offer real blackjack and other casino games.
Having a full-fledged casino facility is now becoming the usual norm in this part of the U.S. Pennsylvania legislators approved casino table games in January 2010 and the state of New York, Delaware, Maryland and Massachusetts are all expanding their gaming offering. New York is still trying to install slot machines at their well-known Aqueduct Racetrack.
By Victor Sanchez
published Sunday, July 18 , 2010