TALKING POLITICS Another battle in RI’s never-ending casino wars BY IAN DONNIS

When Governor Donald L. Carcieri worked with Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano to craft a deal for BLB Investors to buy Lincoln Park, the governor readily acknowledged his own interest in blocking a Harrah’s Entertainment-Narragansett Indian casino. Now, though, with the casino-killing "parity" element having withered in the blast furnace of the General Assembly, the agreement to significantly expand video lottery terminals at Lincoln and Newport seemingly makes the prospect of a casino even more likely.

Although Carcieri is unlikely to lessen his staunch casino opposition, the dramatic expansion in VLTs at the two parlors — from 4303 to 6853 — makes it even harder to deny the state’s utter reliance on gambling revenue, Rhode Island’s third largest source of income. And while the governor underlined the inclusion of several keys in the BLB deal, including more than $30 million for local communities and the phase-out of the auto excise tax, the parity concept was DOA in the House, where Speaker William P. Murphy strongly supports the idea of bringing a casino to his home community of West Warwick.

The legislative agreement to add VLTs bolsters the odds for a casino, says Brown University political science professor Darrell West. "This is mainly because the agreement provides help for Lincoln and Newport, in case their income falls off due to a new casino," West says. Unlike in the past, when they contributed to efforts to preclude another gambling establishment, Newport and Lincoln probably would not muster such opposition in the future, West predicts.

Meanwhile, the agreement to expand VLTs "has drawn the governor farther and farther into gambling," West says, "and even though he says he doesn’t like it, he’s willing to take the budget revenue that comes out of it." In this respect, Carcieri is hardly different from the many officeholders nationwide who would rather tap gambling revenue than raising taxes.

Describing how Lincoln will have more slots than the envisioned Harrah’s casino, Narragansett spokesman Guy Dufault — who raps the governor for being hypocritical — sees the VLT agreement as a positive for Harrah’s and the tribe. Dufault says he believes the General Assembly would approve the matter for a statewide ballot if related legislation gains the Supreme Court’s imprimatur.

For his part, Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal says the governor would not have supported the VLT deal if it increased the likelihood of a casino. The key issue was protecting the state’s existing revenue stream, Neal says, adding, "Nothing has changed in the last couple of weeks that would increase the likelihood that a casino would be approved." He calls the expansion of VLTs at Lincoln and Newport "a fundamentally different thing from adding an entirely new facility with entirely new types of gambling." Going forward, Neal says, "The governor has made it clear that he will do whatever is necessary to oppose the establishment of a casino."