Business & Tech

Newport Grand Success Rides on MA Gamblers

Almost twice as many Massachusetts residents visited Newport Grand than Rhode Islanders, according to a UMass/Dartmouth study

Massachusetts residents made up more than half of all visitors to Newport Grand last year — almost double the number of Rhode Islanders waging bets at the local slot parlor.

The New England Casino Update 2013, released earlier this year by the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, found that 66,794 Massachusetts gamblers traveled to Newport Grand in 2012, versus 39,809 from Rhode Island.

According to the biennial survey, the number of Massachusetts visitors has grown by 41 percent since 2006 — though they are visiting less frequently, resulting in 18 percent fewer visits  — while 3 percent fewer Rhode Islanders have gone to Newport Grand in the same period, leading to a 37-percent drop in visits.

"Newport Grand draws a much smaller number of visitors in comparison to Twin River due to its smaller size, fewer number of gaming machines, and its relatively isolated location on Aquidneck Island," wrote Clyde W. Barrow, director of the Center for Policy Analysis at UMass/Dartmouth, drawing a contract between Newport Grand and the Lincoln slot parlor.

Barrow also explained that the upcoming expansion of gambling in Massachusetts could put a crimp in that state's residents traveling to Newport for gambling — and the $1.1 billion in state tax revenue that they've generated.

As a possible firewall against steep losses, the Rhode Island General Assembly in June approved a plan to let Newport Grand keep more of the money raised through video lottery terminal gaming as part of the fiscal 2014 state budget.

Newport voters in 2012 shot down a plan to add table games, and the extra revenue is meant to "stabilize Newport Grand" as Twin River expands its offerings to include table games and Massachusetts pursues new gambling facilities, according to a General Assembly press release.


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