1. Twin Rivers Casino Poker Rooms
2. Twin River Casino Poker Room Schedule
3. Twin Rivers Casino Poker Room Illinois

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]

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• 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]

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]

1. ^ ^abForm 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Twin River Worldwide Holdings. April 1, 2019. p. 26 – via EDGAR.
2. ^'Boston Man first at Lincoln Downs'. New York Times. AP. July 8, 1947. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
3. ^Blunk, Frank M. (April 29, 1956). 'From jitney to millions: Rise of a turfman'. New York Times. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
4. ^'Lincoln Downs closing for rest of '76'. New York Times. AP. August 8, 1976. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
5. ^'Lincoln Downs 'goes to dogs''. New York Times. AP. December 17, 1976. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
6. ^'Lincoln Park begins June 23'. Washington Post. AP. June 11, 1977. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
7. ^https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=19770407&id=BSZJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WQYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2608,1125020
8. ^O'Neill, Phil (January 24, 1990). 'British buying Lincoln track'. Worcester Telegram & Gazette. – via NewsBank (subscription required)
9. ^Sleeth, Peter (December 22, 1989). 'British firm buying 3 Colo. dog tracks'. Denver Post. – via NewsBank (subscription required)
10. ^ ^abHiday, Jeffrey L. (August 13, 1992). 'Wembley takes full control of race track'. Providence Journal. – via Factiva (subscription required)
11. ^Gray, Ed (July 30, 1991). 'Lincoln bettors enjoy horsing around'. Boston Herald. – via NewsBank (subscription required)
12. ^Gray, Ed (October 1, 1992). 'Video games for dog days'. Boston Herald. – via NewsBank (subscription required)
13. ^Aucoin, Don (April 18, 1993). 'R.I. video poker fans say game is costly but fun'. Boston Globe. – via Factiva (subscription required)
14. ^Eric Woolson (June 13, 1993). 'Track gets lift from video lottery'. The Courier. Waterloo, IA – via Newspapers.com. (Part 2 of article)
15. ^Osborne, Alistair (September 11, 2003). 'Wembley chief to face $4.5m bribery charge'. The Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-11-14.
16. ^Gregg, Katherine; Anderson, Liz (October 8, 2003). 'Rhode Island governor wants new owners for greyhound track'. Providence Journal. – via Factiva (subscription required)
17. ^ ^abMayerowitz, Scott (May 6, 2004). 'MGM Mirage drops bid for Lincoln Park, leaving one bidder'. Providence Journal. – via Factiva (subscription required)
18. ^Freyer, Felice (July 6, 2004). 'Bidder quits effort to buy firm that owns Lincoln Park'. Providence Journal. – via Factiva (subscription required)
19. ^Florin, Karen (July 20, 2005). 'Wolman, partners conclude deal for R.I.'s Lincoln Park'. The Day. New London, CT. – via NewsBank (subscription required)
20. ^Keister, Rebecca (March 24, 2007). 'Taking chance on Twin River'. The Sun Chronicle. Attleboro, MA. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
21. ^Friess, Steve (June 27, 2009). 'A casino's plan to open 24 hours a day draws ire'. New York Times. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
22. ^Grimaldi, Paul (November 10, 2010). 'Twin River wins license transfer'. Providence Journal. – via Factiva (subscription required)
23. ^Grimaldi, Paul (October 20, 2010). 'Bank group clears a hurdle'. Providence Journal. – via Factiva (subscription required)
24. ^Hallenbeck, Brian (October 1, 2011). 'Twin River bankruptcy case closes'. The Day. New London, CT. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
25. ^Paul Grimaldi (June 17, 2013). 'Twin River casino in R.I. expected to draw new crowd of gamblers now that it has table games'. Providence Journal. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
26. ^Grimaldi, Paul (March 4, 2015). 'Twin River makes deal to buy rival Newport Grand'. Providence Journal. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
27. ^'Twin River Casino introduces poker as competition ramps up'. Washington Times. AP. December 4, 2015. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
28. ^Bogdan, Jennifer (May 2, 2017). 'Construction starts on 135-room hotel at Twin River Casino'. Providence Journal. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
29. ^Nicole Dotzenrod (October 24, 2018). 'Twin River Hotel open for business'. The Valley Breeze. Lincoln, RI. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
30. ^Gouker, Dustin (November 21, 2018). 'Rhode Island Sports Betting Launches Monday At Twin River Casino'. Legal Sports Report. Retrieved December 4, 2018.

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 41°53′18.1″N71°26′55.4″W / 41.888361°N 71.448722°W

Twin Rivers Casino Poker Rooms

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. Since that time they have underwent several ownership/management changes, and it wasn’t until 1992 when they expanded their gaming options to feature slot machines. It is worth noting that the age to gamble here, like most Rhode Island casinos, is just 18 years old.

In 2013 Twin River started to expand its gambling options and began offering table games. This was in part due to nearby competition from places like Foxwoods, Mohegan and other resort casinos which opened up in neighboring states like Connecticut. On a side note, and probably irrelevant – but I found it entertaining; Unlike come other casinos which often picture big 6-figure winners, Twin Rivers does a pretty poor job of this, with their biggest winner holding a $2,500 check: http://www.twinriver.com/winner-photos/.

Casino at Twin River Casino

The casino at Twin River offers both smoke-free and smoking floors, with the 1st floor allowing smoking and the second floor not allowing it. The casino as a whole currently has 108 table games and more than 4,200 virtual games like slots, virtual blackjack, video poker etc. Since they now offer live blackjack, I’m not sure why you would want to play it on a machine, but you do have the option. The slots available here include all the popular games like Buffalo, Quick Hit, Wheel of Fortune, Top Dollar and other casino favorites.

In their smoke-free second floor section, they have about 28 table games and 800 slots. This means that a large majority of the games offered at Twin River are located within the smoking area. The table games offered here include all the usual suspects like blackjack, Baccarat, Pai Gow, Roulette, Let it Ride, Craps, Three Card Poker and the likes.

They also have an all new Poker Room, though I have never been there. The Poker Room apparently has a total of 16 tables which offer a mix of 7-card stud and Texas Hold’Em (both limit and no limit). The last time I visited Twin River was probably in 2014, and from what I remember it was not very impressive. The casino seemed to be pretty depressing overall, and was also very smoky. Their virtual machines do not utilize RNG’s but rather use a video lottery terminal system, which is different from other popular gambling destinations like Vegas or AC.

Racebook at Twin River

The Twin River Casino offers a fairly large racebook which is now smoke-free. They offer free Greyhound and Harness Racing Programs, which can be a plus if you are a racing enthusiast. There are plenty of seats here, as well as a number of televisions with live simulcasts, so you are usually able to find a seat and watch the races you bet on. Though they had offered live greyhound racing for several decades, in the end it became to costly to operate (draining them of over $10 million per year). In 2010 they ceased hosting the live greyhound races, but you are still able to bet on similar races via the racebook which simulcasts events from other tracks. You can also bet on all types of horse races from around the world via the racebook.

Restaurants and Bars at Twin River

One of the benefits of visiting Twin River is it’s large offering of food options. Though not as substantial as some of the larger names in gaming, they do offer a nice selection and also employ two world renowned chefs. Their dining options range from an upscale steakhouse to several food courts as well as a few bars, pubs and lounges. Below is a full list of dining options you have at Twin River.

Restaurant Food
– Fred & Steve’s Steakhouse
– Wicked Good Bar & Grill

Fast Food
– Johnny Rockets
– Dunkin Donuts
– Sbarro
– KFC
– Taco Bell
– Subway
– Haagen-Daza
– Colonel’s Buffet

Bars & Lounges
– Lighthouse Bar
– Shipyard Pub
– Blackstone Cigar Bar
– Rhodehouse Live

As you can see from the list above, Twin River offers more in the way of fast food and national food-chains then they do gourmet or upscale food joints. They do offer one somewhat upscale steakhouse, which I guess is a plus and they have a nice selection of bars. If you have a Twin River Rewards Card, you should be able to use your points at most restaurants.

Twin River Rewards Program

Twin River does offer a player rewards program. The program is pretty standard when compared to others such as the Total Rewards program from Caesars. When you are signed up for the program, you will receive a card, which will allow you to acquire points when playing. Points can be used for free play, buying gifts at their store or for food. They will also mail/email you promotions and free play. The only downside is, the points/card is not applicable to any other casinos, so it must be used at Twin River.

Hotel at Twin River

Like many other racetrack casinos, Twin River does not currently have an on-site hotel or resort. This means if you are visiting you’ll either have to plan a day-trip or choose a hotel that’s nearby. Needless to say, you can’t get comped rooms and all that good stuff, though some local hotel’s will offer exclusive deals if you mention you’re staying at the casino.

Twin River Casino Poker Room Schedule

Twin Rivers Casino Poker Room Illinois