Rhode Island Casino Vote A Costly Affair

The referendum, which is on the November 7 ballot, has been one of the most contentious political fights in the state’s recent history.

Harrah’s is looking to bring a more than $1 billion resort to the state to directly compete with nearby Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, the world’s two largest casino resorts that rake in millions each day. In an attempt to convince voters the Harrah’s Narragansett proposal would be a boon for the state, the gaming company has already dropped more than $8 million to convince voters to vote yes on the referendum. In September, Harrarh’s spend more than $3.2 million, about $106,000 a day, on TV and radio ads, polls, consultants and "community relations," such as donations to community groups, The Providence Journal reported.

The main group that opposes the casino, Save Our State, has spent $1.4 million to date. Most of that money has come from the state's two other gambling facilities, Lincoln Park and Newport Grand who do not want to lose income to a Las Vegas style casino. Both Lincoln Park and Newport Grand offer only slot machines and cannot compete with a world class gaming facility.

So who wants the casino? Not the majority, according to a poll from Rhode Island College. The poll, with a 4.5 percentage margin error rate shows 56 percent of those surveyed are against the casino while 10 percent were undecided. Only one-third of Rhode Islanders want the project to move forward.

One major proponent of the casino is the state’s largest newspaper, The Providence Journal. In an editorial last week the paper urged votes to vote yes on the question citing the creation of construction and then long term jobs as well as property-tax relief and the decreased likelihood of increased state and income tax rates.

The paper also wants to capture some of the tax dollars going into Connecticut’s coffers with the nearby mega resorts. “The project would return to the economy of Rhode Island hundreds of millions a year in dollars now going every year to the huge Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos, in eastern Connecticut. There would be that much more money spent in stores and other businesses in Rhode Island rather than there,” said the editorial.

According to Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, in an published commentary on the Rhode Island referendum, said he believes naysayer who think that bringing the casino to the state would damage existing industries such as tourism, entertainment and clothing are wrong.

“An economic analysis prepared for the [National Gambling Impact Study Commission]  by Penn State University economist Adam Rose found little evidence of economic substitution after the introduction of new casinos. As his meta-analysis reveals: "The ‘preponderance of empirical studies indicate claims of the complete 'cannibalization' of pre-existing local restaurants and entertainment facilities by a mere shift in resident spending is grossly exaggerated,’” wrote Fahrenkopf.

In fact, some of the political rhetoric during the months leading up to the referendum has been some of the harshest ever dispelled by politicos.

The state’s governor, Donald L. Carcieri, a virulent opponent of the project does not think the referendum  is even legal under the state’s constitution. In the past he has taken the legislature to task, lambasting the state government in for circumventing the legal process.

“Sadly, over the last few weeks, the Harrah’s casino scheme has gone from bad to worse. In particular, the Harrah’s casino bill no longer includes the provisions that describe how much the casino will pay to the state,” Carcieri said on June 1, when the referendum was approved. “Under the proposal approved today, we have no idea how much the Rhode Island will receive – if anything – from the Harrah’s casino. Instead of guaranteeing Rhode Island’s share of the profits in advance, this proposal will enable Harrah’s to dictate to the people of Rhode Island how much – if anything – they are willing to pay in exchange for a casino.”

© Copyright 2006 Online Casino Crawler This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.