Casino Amendment Approved by Rhode Island Senate
14, June 2006
A proposed West Warwick casino, to be built by the Narragansett Indian tribe, has been approved by the Senate. More specifically, the Senate approved a constitutional amendment on June 1 which exempts the Indian tribe and their business partner of the current legislation. The potential casino owners were blocked by a constitutional provision that requires the state to run all lotteries, under which casinos fall. The Senate approved the amendment 23 to 13 after two hours, following the House which gave its approval the week before. At this point the casino goes on to the November ballot for Rhode Island voters to decide whether or not the group, affiliated with Harrah's Entertainment, will be able to build their casino. Harrah's said they would invest as much as $1 billion and pay a $100 million licensing fee to Rhode Island.
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