SEARCH NEWS:

 

Poll: Rhode Island Favors Casino

"Sixty-five percent of that group is `strongly' in favor, and only 12 percent say they are somewhat opposed or strongly opposed.

"…In a written report to the Narragansetts, pollsters Frank Luntz and Andrew Smith said, `In all the casino polling we have done, it is hard to remember a population more supportive than Rhode Island.'

"…As for the 82 percent who say they want a referendum for voters to decide the issue, Luntz and Smith said, `In the polling world, and in a country that so celebrates its diversity of opinion, this is about as close to unanimity as one will find.'

"…In this election year, there could be perils for politicians who balk at putting the casino issue to a referendum.

"Poll subjects were asked if there were two candidates for governor, Candidate A and Candidate B, who both oppose gambling personally, but Candidate A would oppose a referendum and Candidate B would support putting the measure to voters, for whom would they vote. Candidate A got the votes of 14 percent while Candidate B would get 74 percent of the vote, with 12 percent answering "don't know" or refusing to answer.

"..`Even respondents who believe the Narragansett hotel casino is a bad idea support by 2-1 the candidate who gives them the right to vote on the issue,' Luntz and Smith reported. `Rhode Island voters from every demographic and attitudinal cohort back the right to choose.'

"…One thing that becomes clear from the numbers, they said, is that `Rhode Islanders enjoy casinos. A staggering 49 percent of the adult state population has visited a casino within the past year. By comparison, only 28 percent of adult Americans have been to a casino in the past year.'…"

< Gaming News