PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Voters in Newport will be asked once again if they want gambling to be expanded at the struggling Newport Grand facility.
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed legislation that will put a referendum on the November ballot about adding table games including blackjack and roulette.
The referendum has to pass both statewide and in the local community. Newport rejected it once before, though it passed statewide.
The bill Chafee signed sets out the financial terms of an agreement for expanded gambling if the referendum is approved. The city of Newport would get $1.5 million a year guaranteed, for the first six years, after investors seeking to buy Newport Grand complete a $40 million overhaul.
After that, the city would get $1 million minimum a year from the state’s share of video slots.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
