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Gambling back in Rhode Island legislature

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – As reported by the Pawtucket Times: "Legislative leaders have emphatically declared the General Assembly to be a casino-free zone in the upcoming session, but that doesn't mean gambling won't be on the agenda in one form or another this year.

"Pawtucket Rep. William San Bento, a champion of the state's slot parlors at Lincoln Park and Newport Grand, vice chairman of the Permanent Joint Committee on the State Lottery and a sponsor of numerous gambling bills in recent years, says he has a couple of ideas that might help restore some of the flagging revenues from the operations, which are the state's third-largest source of income.

"Two of those ideas are reel-type slot machines and high-stakes Bingo.

"While he has largely abandoned his perennial effort to get coin-drop slot machines to supplement the computer-driven video lottery terminals at the two facilities - that would likely trigger the constitutional provision requiring voter approval statewide as well as in Lincoln and Newport, which would be unlikely, particularly in the two host communities - San Bento says he would still like to see the lottery use traditional reel-type slot machines side-by-side with the video lottery terminals.

"…The November Revenue Estimating Conference revised the state's estimated take from video lottery terminals in the current year downward from the original estimate of $292 million by $37 million to $255 million, according to figures from House Fiscal Advisor Michael O'Keefe…"

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