IGT and Twin River Present Two Different Takes at House Finance Committee

IGT and Twin River Present Two Different Takes at House Finance Committee

It was billed as a showdown between two gaming industry titans but it was more passive-aggressive in nature than combative.

Think more Chip ’N Dale, less Royal Rumble.

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First up before the House Finance Committee on Thursday was IGT, who stressed that the deal proposed was rigorously negotiated and critical to Rhode Island’s economy.

SEE TWIN RIVER'S FULL PRESENTATION BELOW

There were comments, compliments and gentle digs between the two companies. This was the first time IGT and Twin River representatives testified, but it was already the third legislative hearing on the lottery contract extension.

One of the most unique aspects of the hearing that lasted for 6 plus hours was not the back-and-forth between the two corporate management groups, but the hours of testimony of line IGT employees that lasted late into the night.

Nearly 75 of the IGT employees spoke about their careers — many have been with the company for decades. They shared stories of couples that have met and married, and parents and children who work together at the company.

“I am proud to work for a company a company that was born and bred in Rhode Island, Like me, like my parents, like my children,” said Nancy Robinson who has worked for the company for 15 years.

Their testimony continued for more than five hours.

Ed Gilbert, a Rhode Island site manager who has been with the company for 32 years, talked about receiving nine promotions over the decades and never stopped working in the Cranston facility.

For grizzled State House viewers, the testimony was compelling and Finance Chairman Marvin Abney could not have been more gracious.

The IGT testimony was in contrast to the testimony of Twin River parent company Board member — hedge fund founding partner — Soohyung Kim.

Kim's tone was far more aggressive and charged that IGT has manipulated its relationship in positioning machines on the floor of Twin River casinos to benefit IGT, but that claim by the New York-based Kim is false. The Rhode Island Lottery Commission makes those determinations.

 

Competitive Bid Will Get a Better Result Claimed Twin River

Marc Crisafulli, Twin River’s President of the Corporation, in his testimony critiqued the deal and pointed the legislature to the “gross margin” that he said that IGT will earn if the contract is extended. “It is excessive,’ said Crisafulli.

Twin River executives repeatedly attacked the deal between the state and IGT. And, Crisfulli said the office of Governor Gina Raimondo — who negotiated the deal with IGT — “will not return our phone calls” to learn more about Twin River.

Crisafulli repeatedly pressed that his team — the combination of Twin River and its proposed partner Camelot — could compete with IGT and provide a better option for Rhode Island. 

One surprise was the Twin River’s partner Camelot did not attend the hearing, although they did submit testimony.

Both sides offered financial experts claiming different takes on a range of financial claims.

 

"Dirty Casinos"

To refute the claim that IGT’s machines were underperforming at the Twin River Casinos, IGT brought in gaming industry experts, including UNLV Professor Anthony Lucas, who testified about some of the weaknesses of the management at Twin River,  saying its financial troubles had little to do with the performance of the machines and more to do with the run-down nature of the Twin River Lincoln facility.

In his talking points, Lucas claimed, “It is my opinion that the Lincoln property would benefit from a greater commitment to the cleanliness of the casino and the surrounding areas -- a lack of cleanliness likely inhibits the optimization of revenues, especially when the nearby competitors offer cleaner facilities”

Jay Gendron of IGT testified to the company's role at the state's casinos.

“IGT’s job is two-fold in Lincoln and Tiverton," said Gendron. "First, we supply the central monitoring system for the 5,175 VLTs at both facilities which tracks every transaction on every VLT and ensures the machines are working properly and that none of the machines are compromised to preserve their security and integrity. Second, IGT is a technology provider of more than 4,000 of the VLTs at both properties.”

“In Rhode Island unlike most commercial casinos, the cost of the machine is borne by the technology provider and not the operator – who in this case is the State of Rhode 4 Island. Of those 4,000 VLTs, approximately 45% of those machines are IGT-manufactured VLTs and the remaining are machines we purchase from other VLT manufacturers like Aristocrat and Konami,” Gendron testified.