NORWICH, NEW LONDON CULINARY STUDENTS HOLD BATTLE OF THE PANS PROJECTED COST OF DELAYED R.I. CASINO NEARLY DOUBLES

Norwich — The second annual Battle of the Pans, pitting culinary students from Norwich Free Academy against culinary students at New London High School, will be held today at Three Rivers Community College, with proceeds going to the Thames River Family Place, a homeless shelter for families.

Judging for the student competition will be done by culinary students at Grasso Tech in Groton.

The event, featuring hors d’oeuvres prepared by New London school chefs, will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday in the multipurpose room at Three Rivers Community College, 574 New London Turnpike, Norwich. Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for students.

The event also includes a raffle of dinner for six to eight guests prepared in the winner’s home by New London High School Chef Dan Giusti.

For information or tickets, go to www.trfp.org or call (860) 887-3288.

Tiverton, R.I. — A Rhode Island casino under construction near the border with Massachusetts is expected to open later than originally planned, at a cost nearly twice the initial estimate.

The casino in Tiverton is now scheduled to open in October 2018. It is expected to cost $140 million, up from $75 million. Twin River Worldwide Holdings is building the casino, which is scheduled to have 1,000 slot machines and 32 table games.

A Twin River official said Wednesday that the cost of the casino is borne entirely by the company, and no subsidies or taxpayer dollars are being used. The official said the site offered more construction challenges than projected, delaying the project and increasing costs.

He also said restrictions on construction hours are slowing progress.