Twin River Casino Hotel
Location	Lincoln, Rhode Island
Address	100 Twin River Road
Opening date	July 7, 1947; 72 years ago
No. of rooms	136
Total gaming space	162,000 square feet (15,100 m²)
Casino type	Land-based
Owner	Twin River Worldwide Holdings
Previous names	Lincoln Downs (1947–1977) Lincoln Greyhound Park (1977–1993) Lincoln Park (1993–2007)
Website	twinriver.com

Jun 23, 2015 By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com Twin River Casino is adding poker to their selection of table games. According to a news release, 16 poker tables will be built inside the casino’s new poker room and eight traditional games, such as Blackjack, will round out the other additions.

Twin River is a fairly small casino located in Lincoln, Rhode Island just outside of Providence. They are somewhat of a hybrid between a resort-casino and a racino, though they do not offer a hotel or any amenities.The venue started out in the 1940’s as “Lincoln Raceway” which strictly offered thoroughbred and greyhound racing. I have been working at Twin River Casino part-time for more than a year Pros -Pay is decent, but supervisors will make $150/$200 a week less than dealers who have been in the business for 2 months. Twin River Casino Poker Room - 100 Twin River Rd, Lincoln, Rhode Island 02865 - Rated 3.8 based on 6 Reviews 'Never have I seen a poker room with so many.

Twin River Casino Hotel, previously Lincoln Park, is a casino, hotel, and former race track in Lincoln, Rhode Island, owned and operated by Twin River Worldwide Holdings. The facility has 162,000 square feet (15,100 m²) of gaming space, with 4,108 slot machines, 97 table games, and 23 poker tables.^[1] The hotel has 136 rooms. Other amenities include a 29,000-square-foot (2,700 m²) event center, 16 eateries, 7 bars, and a racebook.^[1]

1History

History[edit]

Lincoln Downs opened on July 7, 1947.^[2] It was built by B. A. Dario, owner of the Pascoag Park Racetrack in Pascoag, Rhode Island, and accommodated 5,800 spectators in the grandstand, plus 2,000 more in the clubhouse and turf club.^[3]

A 1965 newspaper advertisement for Lincoln Downs

In 1976, Dario closed the track early, stating that it had lost $400,000 in 28 days, due to the loss of customers to Connecticut's off-track betting and jai alai, and the state's refusal to allow the track to keep a larger share of the betting handle.^[4] Later that year, Dario sold his 82 percent controlling interest in the park to the Taunton Greyhound Association.^[5] The track was renamed as Lincoln Greyhound Park, and began its first season of greyhound racing in June 1977.^[6]

In April 1977, Dario claimed he had a deal to purchase Narragansett Park, but those claims proved unsubstantiated.^[7]

In December 1989, the owners, Alfred Ross and Joseph Linsey of Florida, agreed to sell Lincoln Greyhound Park, along with four other dog tracks in Colorado and South Dakota, for an estimated total of $80 million to United Track Racing, a joint venture between Wembley plc (the British parent company of Wembley Stadium) and United Tote (a Montana-based supplier of computerized wagering systems for racetracks).^[8]^[9] United Tote was charged with managing the tracks, due to Wembley's lack of experience in the American pari-mutuel market.^[10] Wembley bought out United Tote's 20 percent stake in the company in August 1992.^[10]

Rhode Island's 1991-92 budget authorized Lincoln and the state's other pari-mutuel facility, Newport Jai Alai, to offer off-track betting for 104 days a year. Simulcasting of horse races from other tracks began in July 1991.^[11]

In 1992, with pari-mutuel handles dropping due to competition from the newly opened Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, Rhode Island authorized video lottery terminals with poker and blackjack games to be installed at Lincoln Park and Newport Jai Alai. Lincoln came online in September 1992 with 189 machines.^[12] By 1993, the number had increased to 900.^[13] That year, the property's name was shortened to Lincoln Park, to emphasize that it offered simulcasting and electronic gaming in addition to greyhound racing.^[14]

Transformation to Twin River[edit]

In 2003, Lincoln Park and two executives were indicted on federal charges related to an alleged scheme in 2000 and 2001 to pay up to $4 million to the law firm of Rhode Island House Speaker John Harwood to gain support for an expansion of the track's slot parlor, and to block a rival casino proposed by the Narragansett Indian Tribe.^[15] In the wake of the accusations, Governor Donald Carcieri demanded that the track be sold to new owners before negotiations could continue on the proposed expansion.^[16] A bidding war for Wembley ensued between MGM Mirage and BLB Investors (a partnership of the Waterford Group, Kerzner International, and Starwood Capital).^[17] BLB made the winning offer of $553 million in May 2004,^[17] but withdrew from the deal just two months later due to concerns about potential competition from the Narragansett casino.^[18] A new agreement was later reached for BLB to buy Wembley's five American race tracks, including Lincoln, for a total of $455 million, and the sale closed in July 2005.^[19]

BLB undertook a $220 million expansion which opened in March 2007 under a new name, Twin River Casino.^[20]

BLB filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009, and said it would have to end dog racing for the casino to survive.^[21] The company's reorganization was largely resolved by November 2010,^[22] with ownership transferred to its lenders, a group led by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Sankaty Advisors,^[23] but the bankruptcy case remained open until September 2011.^[24]

In November 2012, voters statewide and in Lincoln approved a referendum allowing live table games at Twin River. A similar referendum for the Newport Grand was rejected by Newport voters. Table games began operating in June 2013.^[25]

In March 2015, Twin River agreed to purchase the Newport Grand.^[26]

The casino added a poker room in December 2015.^[27]

Construction began in May 2017 on a four-story hotel attached to the casino.^[28] The hotel opened in October 2018 with 136 rooms.^[29]

In November 2018, Twin River opened the first sportsbook in Rhode Island and began offering sports betting.^[30]

References[edit]

^ ^a^bForm 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Twin River Worldwide Holdings. April 1, 2019. p. 26 – via EDGAR.
^'Boston Man first at Lincoln Downs'. New York Times. AP. July 8, 1947. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
^Blunk, Frank M. (April 29, 1956). 'From jitney to millions: Rise of a turfman'. New York Times. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
^'Lincoln Downs closing for rest of '76'. New York Times. AP. August 8, 1976. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
^'Lincoln Downs 'goes to dogs''. New York Times. AP. December 17, 1976. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
^'Lincoln Park begins June 23'. Washington Post. AP. June 11, 1977. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
^https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=19770407&id=BSZJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WQYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2608,1125020
^O'Neill, Phil (January 24, 1990). 'British buying Lin

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