Gambling At Twin River Casino Going 24/7 Now That State Owns It

The people of Lincoln, Rhode Island had to be perplexed by the situation that occurred with the Twin River Casino in their town. The casino has been financially struggling for years now, and on Wednesday the other shoe finally dropped when the casino entered into bankruptcy.

It was part of what happened during the bankruptcy procedure that has people in Lincoln talking. The state Lottery Commission will assume control of the casino, and the laws in the town are about to drastically change. The state is expected to keep the facility open, and keep it open all the time.

Twenty-four hour gambling at the casino is one of the solutions to help raise revenue at the casino. Normally, a vote would be required to make such a move, but the Executive branch has a right to implement the law without voter approval.

"At what point do the people of Lincoln have a say in what is going o0n in their own town," asked Senator Paul O'Neill, "first we started out as a horse track, then a dog track, then off-track betting came in somehow, then we went to slots, then more slots, then we went to 24/3, then we went to video (blackjack), now we've got more slots and now it's 24/7."

And so is the progression of casino gambling not only in Lincoln, but in many places around the US in these tough economic times. Once the ball gets rolling, it just keeps moving.The difference here, however, is that the state has chosen to change the rules only after they took control of the casino.

Perhaps had they made this "exception" before, the owners could have avoided bankruptcy altogether. The Lottery Commission conveniently waited until the casino was in their control, and then expanded the hours of operation.

Lincoln is just the latest example of politicians using gambling to save their own behinds. The Twin Lakes Casino would have, and still may, present a financial burden on the state, but that burden will be a lot easier to handle with gambling around the clock.

June 25, 2009
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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