Harrah's Casino Advocates Meet

WEST WARWICK, Rhode Island – As reported by the Kent County Daily Times: "It read like a who's-who of the casino situation: among the 40-some-odd people assembled in a small, vacant room in a currently unoccupied piece of West Warwick's Industrial Park were prominent local politicos, Harrah's executives, a core group of representatives from Rhode Islanders for Jobs and Tax Relief (RIJTR) and Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas of the Narragansett Tribe, to name a few of the players.

"They were all assembled to learn and share information regarding site issues for the proposed Harrah's casino, a controversial project whose presence on the Nov. 7 ballot is swiftly approaching with each passing day.

"Outside the meeting, which was an effort assembled by RIJTR and Harrah's, a small group of representatives from West Warwick Citizens Against the Casino gathered, picketing with posterboard signs before joining in to hear the presentation and get their laundry list of questions answered.

"The meeting, according to RIJTR spokesperson Claire Eckert, was to be 'a simple presentation with displays and maps,' as well as a brief walking tour around the casino's proposed footprint: a formidable expanse of hotel space, casino floor, dining and retail spaces and other resort amenities situated within Ward 5, a neighborhood of the 8-square mile town…"