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To keep high rollers in RI, Bally’s wants to allow up to $100K in gambling credit at casinos

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To keep high rollers in RI, Bally’s wants to allow up to 0K in gambling credit at casinos


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PROVIDENCE − With backing from Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, a fast-moving bill to double the gambling-on-credit limit at Rhode Island’s two Bally’s-run state casinos to $100,000 is sparking questions.

Among them: Why is this a good idea? How deeply is Bally’s able to probe the off-limits gambling habits of online gamblers or the patrons of the tribal casinos across the border? What else does this newly filed legislation actually do?

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“Obviously we’re not interested in extending lines of credit to those individuals who would not be able to pay it back,” Bally’s representative Elizabeth Suever assured the Senate Committee on Special Legislation last week on the wide-ranging bill introduced on May 2.

Why it matters:

Taxpayers have a stake because state-sponsored gambling – including gambling in Bally’s-run two state casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton – is the state’s third largest source of revenue, with an anticipated $428.8 million in gambling revenue headed to the state treasury this year.

What is the rush on the bill?

No one from the Rhode Island Lottery – which is the state’s gambling control agency – or the Council on Problem Gambling appeared at last week’s hearing to say anything on the bill that Senate President Dominick Ruggerio allowed to be introduced more than two months after the Senate’s bill-introduction deadline.

Why did Ruggerio sponsor a bill this late in the session? “The bill was introduced at the request of Bally’s, to keep them on par with competition from casinos in Massachusetts,” a spokesperson for Ruggerio said.

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A hearing has been scheduled for this Thursday on the matching House version of the bill. That version also seeks to give the state’s Department of Business Regulation the power to change the terms in the latest version of the state’s current operating agreement with Bally’s without having to ask legislative approval.

In the State House: More than one senator seemed shocked that the new language was not delineated in “blue” – as is usually the case – and unsatisfied by Suever’s answer that this is not, technically, the kind of law that requires legislative approval.

What are the arguments for a $100,000 credit limit?

How Suever explained the need: “We want to make sure that, as the operator of the two casinos for the state of Rhode Island, we’re doing everything that we can to be regionally competitive. By that I mean competitive with those casinos that are in Connecticut, which are some of the largest casinos in the United States, and Massachusetts.”

She said Bally’s already has high limit rooms, but players in the rooms have said they can’t get the same level of credit in Rhode Island as they can in Massachusetts.

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Massachusetts does not have a credit limit. (Connecticut casinos are tribal, meaning they can decide how much credit to issue, she said.)

While Bally’s is not suggesting Rhode Island go as far as Massachusetts, she said, extending the limit from $50,000 currently to $100,000 would be “an amenity for our players that play very high limits because they don’t want to be carrying that amount of cash on their person as they’re coming and going from the casino.”

Suever said the limit would be for a “very, very limited amount of players.”

The limit would only be available to people gambling at the casino in person, she said, and would not be available to those using iGaming.

She did not mention how the casino’s are faring financially. While state revenues from the Lottery’s instant tickets, Powerball and Daily Numbers games are up year-over-year, the state’s share of the take from the video-slots and table games at the two casinos was down. At the Tiverton casino, the table game action was down 8.2%, at LIncoln, 3.2%.

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What does it take to get the $100,000 limit?

Before extending or upping anyone’s credit, Suever said they:

  • Have the player file a credit application
  • Have Bally’s do bank account checks and credit history checks
  • Require two forms of identification
  • Require a player number to track their play and their gaming history at all local casinos

How many players current carry a $50,000 credit limit? Suever wasn’t able to say, and the Rhode Island Lottery did not respond to an inquiry about the gambling debt loads of Bally’s customers in Rhode Island by deadline.

What else would the bills do?

Other features of the bill would change the 20-year deal for Rhode Island’s lottery and casino operations, according to Bally’s spokeswoman Patti Doyle, by:

  • Allowing negotiations between RI Lottery and Bally’s on the calculation of Bally’s debt ratio, allowing, for example, “addbacks for development projects and not just acquisitions.”
  • Changing the way promotional points are calculated. This is money that comes straight off the top of the state’s share that the casino can give customers as an incentive to visit and play more.



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Rhode Island

Providence man arrested in connection to narcotics and firearms investigation | ABC6

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Providence man arrested in connection to narcotics and firearms investigation | ABC6


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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island State Police said a Providence man was arrested after police allegedly discovered multiple narcotics and a gun inside two residences on Sept. 23.

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47-year-old Joel Garcia was charged with possession with the intent to deliver over 1 kilogram of fentanyl, possession with the intent to deliver over 1 kilogram of cocaine, possession with the intent to deliver one ounce to one kilogram of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to deliver fentanyl, possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, possession with the intent to deliver methamphetamine, possession of a firearm while committing a controlled substance violation, unlawful possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and distribution of a controlled substance in a school zone.

According to RISP, police received court-authorized search warrants for two residences in Providence in connection to a narcotics and firearms investigation.

Inside an apartment on Dresser Street, police allegedly seized 1.7 kilograms of fentanyl, 2.3 kilograms of cocaine, and 147 grams of methamphetamine.

Police also searched Garcia’s residence on Portland Street and allegedly seized one fully loaded pistol.

According to police, Garcia had allegedly used the apartment on Dresser Street to “store, package, and distribute large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.”

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Garcia was arrested and charged.

RISP, Providence police, Cranston police, North Providence police, Johnston police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Rhode Island National Guard Counterdrug Program assisted in the investigation.





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Rhode Island

The Ocean State’s Bond With Robert Redford

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The Ocean State’s Bond With Robert Redford


Millions have been mourning the death of a cinematic icon over the last week with the passing of Robert Redford at age 89.

The award-winning actor is arguably one of the most famous of all time. With over 70 films to his credit on screen and nine he directed throughout his career, Redford’s work in cinema stands out as some of the greatest.

Though only two of Redford’s movies were ever filmed in Rhode Island, the Oscar-winning actor has a deep connection with the Ocean State.

Redford’s Family Roots Near Rhode Island

Though no Redfords actually lived in Rhode Island, Robert’s family was longtime residents of Stonington, CT and several members were born in nearby Westerly, RI.

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READ MORE: ‘Sopranos’ Star Officially Becomes a Rhode Island Resident

Throughout Robert Redford’s childhood there were visits to his grandparents in Stonington, where his grandfather worked as a milkman.

Presumably this time in Stonington meant crossing the state line into Westerly on more than one occasion in his youth and perhaps led to his love of the Rhode Island seaside in later years.

Filming The Great Gatsby in Newport

During his career, Redford came to Newport in the 1970s to film The Great Gatsby at the historic Rosecliff Mansion. Decades later he returned to Rhode Island with the science fiction film The Discovery and even wrote a thank you letter to Newport,  praising their preservation efforts in the city.

READ MORE: HGTV Says You Need to Drive This Road in Newport

Though when he did ultimately settle in New England, Redford chose Weston, CT as his home for almost two decades. He purchased a home not too far from his close friend and fellow actor, Paul Newman.

Evan Agostini/Getty Images

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Rhode Island Honors Robert Redford

Rhode Island never forgot its ties to the beloved actor however. In 2002 Redford was asked to be the commencement speaker at Brown University and that same year Trinity Repertory Company awarded him a Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.

Just one of the many lifetime achievement awards Robert Redford would go on to accumulate during his illustrious career.

20 Stars Who Hail From Rhode Island

Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the nation, but it has been home to many celebrities. Though some have moved here, filmed here or attended school here, only a handful were actually born here. These are those celebrities.

Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall

Academy Award and Golden Globe Winners from Massachusetts

These Massachusetts natives have taken home some of Hollywood’s top honors.

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Gallery Credit: Michaela Johnson

30 Things To Do in Newport Any Time of Year

Newport has always been seen as a summer destination. Wealthy New Yorkers used to escape the city in the hotter months for this picturesque seaside spot and the label as a summer vacation destination began.

There are, however, plenty of things to do in this historic town in any season and we’ve found a few that you may want to try the next time you head to Newport.

Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall





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GoLocalProv | Sports | VIDEO: Providence’s Lassiter Scores 44-Yard TD in Vanderbilt’s Upset Over #11 South Carolina

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GoLocalProv | Sports | VIDEO: Providence’s Lassiter Scores 44-Yard TD in Vanderbilt’s Upset Over #11 South Carolina


Sunday, September 14, 2025

 

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Zell Lassiter
PHOTO: Via Vanderbilt

Providence’s Jamezell Lassiter had a big play on a huge stage on Saturday when Vanderbilt football upset #11 South Carolina. SEE 7:25 MARK.

Lassiter, who played for the Edgewood Eagles and the Mount Hope Cowboys and attended the San Miguel School in Providence, smoked the Gamecocks on a 44-yard touchdown score.

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Vanderbilt won 31-7 over No. 11 South Carolina, snapping a 16-game losing streak between the two programs. 

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Zell Lassiter PHOTO: Vanderbilt Athletics

In 2024, GoLocal sports columnist Robert McMahon wrote about Lassiter’s journey to the top Division I program:

His athletic skills impressed his San Miguel classmates. Flag football, soccer, basketball—Jamezell could do it all. He was a natural athlete.

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But the transformation of Zell, as he likes to be called, happened in the San Miguel classroom. 

READ MORE HERE

 

 

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