Twin River hotel taking shape
LINCOLN – It has taken a few years, but the long-planned hotel at the Twin River Casino is finally taking shape while heading toward its opening later this year.
Construction crews have sealed up the four-story, 134-room, hotel building that is being added as an extension off the casino’s North Entrance, according to Patti Doyle, Twin River’s spokeswoman.
“It’s fully enclosed and it is an active construction site,” Doyle said of the work continuing on the $30 million project this winter. The hotel is expected to open during the summer, according to Doyle.
The path for the hotel’s construction, a long-sought addition to the Twin River operation, was cleared by the General Assembly and Gov. Gina Raimondo in April of
2015 with approval of a change in the state gaming laws governing Twin River that removed a prior ban on hotel construction at the Lincoln casino property.
The hotel prohibition had initially been put into place as a concession to the Providence hotel industry over fears Twin River would compete for downtown customers.
Twin River is now in the process of developing a second casino operation in Tiverton, which will also feature a hotel, an 84-room structure, as part of the overall $140 million Tiverton project. The Tiverton casino will replace Twin River’s Newport Grand video gaming operation in Newport.
Doyle said on Friday that Tiverton will offer 1,000 video lottery terminals (VLTs), about the same number now in place in Newport, and also 32 live gaming tables.
“It’s going great,” Doyle said of the Tiverton project
which as been under way since last year. “We are projecting an October 1 opening for casino and the hotel,” she said.
The Lincoln Twin River hotel project is being completed by the Excell Corp. of East Greenwich, general contractor and A/Z Corporation of North Stonington, Conn., construction manager. The hotel was designed by JCJ Architects which also designed Twin River’s casino in Lincoln. The hotel will include a pool, athletic center and event space among its amenities. Ground was broken on the project in May of last year, with representatives of Twin River, the Town of Lincoln and area businesses all taking hold of shovels to mark the milestone.
Twin River features 4,200 VLTS in its 160,000-squarefoot casino and 108 live table games. The Lincoln casino also offers a 29,000-squarefoot event center along with restaurants, pubs and food courts.