Twin River Casino Explores Hotel Project, Informs Lincoln

Twin River Casino Explores Hotel Project, Informs Lincoln

The chairman of Twin River Casino appeared before the Lincoln Town Council on Tuesday night to inform the Council of its interest in building a hotel on its property and to seek legislative assistance to remove the current laws that would prohibit it.

John E. Taylor, Jr. told the Council that timing may be right to engage in a process to construct a small hotel at Twin River. “While we have always defined ourselves as a convenience casino, one that caters to customers who live within a 60-mile radius, we are motivated by two important factors. The first is that there is no denying that the New England gaming landscape has changed dramatically in the last two years. In a few short months we will begin to compete against a Massachusetts racino just 12 miles from our front door. Within another 18 months, we will be competing against destination casinos owned by premier operator Steve Wynn just outside of Boston and MGM in Springfield. The second is that more and more of our customers tell us they would like the option to play, dine and then stay overnight at Twin River.”

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He continued, “It’s critical for the State and the Town that Twin River remain competitive and that revenue and jobs are preserved. We see the addition of a small hotel as a valuable amenity and one we would very much like to further explore.”

The hotel, as planned, would feature 150 – 250 rooms and would be no more than four stories tall. It would be attached to the Casino and would include a spa, small meeting rooms and room service provided by the casino’s food and beverage operations.

The Town Council will schedule a public hearing on the proposed hotel so that Twin River might share its preliminary thoughts and designs with Town residents. Executives also notified the Council that they would seek legislative relief to the current law, which prohibits construction of a hotel on its property. That process will commence concurrent to the Town review process due to the legislative calendar. If that prohibition is removed, Twin River would then engage in a formal planning and zoning process with the Town of Lincoln.