Once gambling customers are lost to newer properties it is extremely difficult to get them back, specialists say. The anticipated loss is going to have a significant impact on the ability of the state to finance its services, Sasse said. Massachusetts plans to license gambling resorts this year in Springfield, the Boston area, and possibly Southeastern Massachusetts, where tribal and commercial casino plans are pending.Ĭasino expansion in Massachusetts is expected to cost Rhode Island state coffers $422 million from fiscal 2015 through fiscal 2019, according to a forecast from Governor Lincoln Chafee’s administration. The Plainville slot parlor, to be developed by Penn National Gaming at the junction of Route 1 and Interstate 495, will be in a strong location to intercept traffic to Rhode Island when the slots open next spring.Īnd the competition is only going to get tougher for Rhode Island, which also makes money from a slot parlor in Newport. “If you take Interstate 95 from Rhode Island down to Maryland, the market really hasn’t grown over the past couple of years,” casino consultant Frank Fantini said. Many of Twin River Casino’s patrons travcl to Rhode Island from Massachusetts.
