The administration of Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo denied claims that Twin River Worldwide Holdings has been threatened by a senior staff member of the state’s top official that it would face regulatory trouble if it opposed a 20-year no-bid lottery contract extension for International Game Technology (IGT).
Twin River is the operator of Rhode Island’s two casinos and IGT supplies and powers the majority of slot machines at the two gambling venues.
Twin River agreed earlier this month to pay a $180,000 fine and increase the amount it spends annually on improving its Lincoln casino to settle a dispute that saw the state accuse the casino operator of breaching an important condition of its license.
Under the terms of that license, Twin River is not permitted to exceed a 4:1 ratio of debt to revenue generated by its two casinos. The company went public earlier this year, following the completion of its merger with Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment.
In May, Twin River asked the state to change the terms of its debt in order to be able to reward shareholders of the newly combined business with dividends and stock buybacks. That pushed the debt ratio to 4.5:1.
The casino operator said that the state had given it assurances that its debt limit would be raised. However, it claimed that everything changed when it opposed publicly the 20-year extension of IGT’s contract with Rhode Island.
”No Merit” in Threat Claims
Over the course of Twin River’s debt limit dispute with Rhode Island, the company’s CEO, George Papinier, said in an August letter that it actually stemmed from their opposition to the IGT contract extension. The executive further pointed out in that letter that a senior member of Gov. Raimondo’s administration “warned a member of my staff that there would be consequences if we opposed that deal.”
Questioned by Rhode Island Senators, Twin River Rhode Island President Mark Crisafulli said last that he was the staff member who received the warning. He could not name the individual who allegedly threatened his company of retaliatory action if it kept fighting the IGT deal.
Mr. Crisafulli told Senators that in a phone call on June 27 he was warned by Gov. Raimondo’s administration that lawmakers “know you need to make changes if you want to execute on your long-term growth plan, and we will not be cooperative if you oppose this [the IGT] deal.”
A spokesperson for Gov. Raimondo said Friday that “the administration’s staff has spoken numerous times with Mr. Crisafulli, and there is absolutely no merit to his assertion that a threat of retaliation was ever made.” The Friday statement read further that “the fact is that Twin River violated their regulatory agreement” and that “despite this, the administration has worked for months with Twin River to reach a fair settlement that protects taxpayers.”
The casino operator features slot machines by three gaming technology providers. IGT supplies the majority of gaming devices at Twin River’s two casinos in Rhode Island. The contested extension of the gaming technology provider’s deal with the state would enable it to control 85% of all slot machines. However, Twin River says IGT’s devices have demonstrated poorer performance than those powered by other suppliers in recent years.
Source: Raimondo administration denies Twin River was threatened, ProvidenceJournal.com
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