Rhode Island considers virtual blackjack

"Lottery Director Gerald Aubin confirmed yesterday that he has asked GTECH and a second vendor, International Game Technology (IGT), whether they are interested in supplying an initial 18 machines that simulate a live blackjack game by allowing five or six players to sit at a table, signaling their moves — hit me again, double-down, split — electronically to a "dealer" on a video screen.

"In a promotional photograph supplied by one of the leading manufacturers of the machines, a buxom blonde in a revealing Octoberfest outfit 'deals' cards from the video screen. The 'recommended' minimum denomination for a bet: $5.

"In interviews yesterday, both Aubin and state Rep. William San Bento, the chairman of the legislature's Lottery oversight committee, said they believe, and have been assured by legal advisers, that voter approval is not required because the machines do not, in their view, constitute the introduction of a new form of gambling in Rhode Island. ware Lottery last year are "absolutely nothing different than what we have."

"...Both Twin River — formerly Lincoln Park —and the state's only other slot parlor, Newport Grand, are privately owned. Two of the member companies in BLB, the consortium that owns Twin River, were original developers of the Mohegan Sun casino: the Waterford Group and Kerzner International..."