PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A plan to build New England’s newest casino near the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border is moving forward after narrowly winning approval from voters in Tiverton, Rhode Island.
But some remain wary of the project, noting declining casino revenues in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Voters this month approved a ballot question to allow Rhode Island casino operator Twin River Management Group to transfer its license for the aging Newport Grand slots parlor to a new Tiverton casino that will be built about 400 feet from the border with Fall River, Massachusetts.
The measure easily won statewide approval, but it passed by just 368 votes in Tiverton, which has a population of about 16,000.
The project for a new casino and adjacent hotel must still get approval from town planning authorities before it can be built.