Local Residents Voted Down a Proposal to Add More Slots Machines to the Newport Grand Last Year
Both Rhode Island casinos are set to close on Monday night, due to the blizzard conditions. The Twin River Casino in Lincoln will shut from 8pm Monday until 12 noon on Wednesday. The Newport Grand Casino plans to close at 5pm on Monday. It will remain shut all day on Tuesday, according to a report from WPRI radio.
The closings are likely to be a precaution used throughout the region. Businesses throughout New England are preparing to be snowed-in for a couple of days, while those planning to travel (such as the Patriots) made special arrangements to leave early, to avoid troubles with snow and ice.
About Twin River Casino
Twin River casino in Lincoln is a 24-hour casino with about 300,000 square feet of gaming space. The casino, which is located at 100 Twin River Road, is a large casino by non-Vegas standards. It offers 80 table games and 4,540 gaming machines–most of those being slot machines. The Twin Rivers complex has 15 restaurants and 2 bars on the premises, too.
The casino is owned by Twin River Worldwide Holdings, which bought the Hard Rock Casino Biloxi in 2013. In 2012, Twin River won the right to install slot machines at their complex.
At the time, there was concern whether the referendum would pass, allowing for gaming machines. According to the Hartford Courant, the populace of Lincoln, Rhode Island voted by a 74.8% to 25.2% margin to approve gaming machines.
About Newport Grand Casino
Newport Grand is a casino complex in Newport, Rhode Island. The casino, which has about 50,000 square feet of gaming space, is open from 10am to 1am every day of the year. The property has 1,070 gaming machines and 2 restaurants. It is found at 150 Admiral Kalbus Road in Newport, Rhode Island.
A vote by residents of Newport did not approve more gaming machines for the Newport Grand in 2012. Those in favor of gaming machines polled only 46.2% of the vote, while those against an expansion of gaming represented 53.8% of the vote. Because voters did not approve the measure, Twin River Casino has grown in size and stature compared to the state’s only other gaming parlor.
According to the Hartford Courant newspaper, both gaming parlors had their own section on the ballot. Approval needed to be gained from the specific community and through a statewide vote.
Winter Closings of Casinos
Those in the New England region might check to see if any of the regional casinos are going to open for business, before going to your favorite local venue to wager. The region and nearby areas appear to be facing massive closings.
The blizzard is expected to postpone many live shows and events. For instance, the NBA postponed games involving both its New York City franchises. The New York Knicks canceled a game with the Sacramento Kings. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets canceled their home game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Sports leagues are not in the business of canceling games, especially in an area where travel is so well-planned and games involve billions of dollars of wagers by sports gamblers and daily fantasy sports betters. In those circumstances, people know the weather must be particularly bad, or else such postponements and closings would not happen.
Patriots Leave for the Super Bowl
Luckily for the Patriots and their fans, the New England Patriots were able to leave on Monday afternoon before the blizzard hit. According to FoxSports, the Patriots decided to leave early for Arizona, for fear of being snowed in before Super Bowl 49. If Bill Belichick’s team won’t leave the inflation of the footballs to chance, then you know the team won’t take any chances when it comes to the weather. Once they arrive in Arizona, the weather should be perfect for football.
Though the Seattle Seahawks were the slight 1 to 2 point favorites at most sportsbooks in the United States when the lines opened, the New England Patriots are said to be a betting favorite with NFL fans since bets could be placed. Betters seem to believe the Patriots offense/defense combination is better, despite the Seahawks having the better defense (slightly) and running game (by a big margin). While the Patriots have a solid running game, the Seahawks have a superior one, with the ‘Hawks netting 60 more yards a game behind the legs of Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson.
