Voters Reject Casino Question
by Nancy Cook
WRNI (November 8, 2006)

Rhode Island voters have responded to the years of debate over a proposed casino in West Warwick . Harrah's entertainment spent about 12-million dollars on a campaign to persuade voters to back the casino, which would have benefited the Narragansett Indian tribe. But casino advocates won over fewer than 40-percent of voters as Nancy Cook reports.

The Casino Question
by Nancy Cook
WRNI (October 19, 2006)

Rhode Island voters face choices next month not just of candidates but on nine ballot questions. The most contentious is question 1. It asks whether you approve of changing the Rhode Island constitution to allow a casino in West Warwick operated by the Narragansett Indian tribe and its chosen partner. The tribe has tried for more than a decade to win approval of a casino. Nancy Cook asks who might benefit from a casino.

Backers of the proposed casino in West Warwick promise new jobs and property tax relief. They say it's about voters approving a plan to help the Narragansett Indian tribe. But the two existing gambling venues in Rhode Island worry a casino would put them out of business. Other businesses are worried that they might not survive either. Nancy Cook reports on who a new casino could be hurt .

The first question on the Rhode Island ballot next month asks whether you want to change the state constitution to permit a casino in West Warwick . It also says the casino would provide property tax relief. But how much or even how that will be determined is not yet known. And that has left some voters confused. Nancy Cook takes a look at the deal's financial arrangements .

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