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Ex-mayor of Providence to buy Newport Grand

Ex-Providence mayor, 2 others to buy Newport Grand, but deal hinges on voter OK of table games

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) -- Three investors, including former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino, announced Monday they're buying the Newport Grand slots parlor to upgrade the video slot and entertainment site to better compete with Massachusetts casinos.

Paolino and developers Peter de Savary and Paul Roiff said they've signed an agreement to buy the slots parlor from longtime owner Diane S. Hurley and her partners.

"We understand the industry. We understand local politics," de Savary said.

Operating table games requires voter approval in both Newport and Rhode Island. Allowing table games such as blackjack and roulette at Newport Grand won statewide approval in 2012, but was rejected by voters in Newport.

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Paolino and his partners say they will not move forward on plans to spend $40 million for improvements and upgrades unless voters approve a table game referendum for Newport Grand in November.

"This is a big ugly shed with 'slots' written all over it," de Savary said. "I'm unable to see why the vote would not prevail because it has no negative impact on anybody."

The developers will transform the building into a casino that resembles destinations in Monte Carlo, he said.

Paolino and de Savary said a confidentiality agreement bars them from disclosing the purchase price.

De Savary, who led the British team for the America's Cup Challenge in 1983, said he and his partners expect to win voter approval, possibly as early as November.

"The last time, it was very badly presented," he said. "Misinformation was put out by some radicals."

A refurbished Newport Grand will boost business for Newport, which he said supports businesses only four or five months out of the year.

Paolino and de Savary said that if Newport Grand does not offer table games, it would likely close. Providence and Rhode Island would lose a combined $30 million a year in tax revenue, Paolino said.

If voters approve table games, the developers will begin refurbishing the casino "right away," the former mayor said.

Paolino said Rhode Island needs to compete against a possible Foxwoods Resort Casino proposed for Fall River, Massachusetts. Fall River Mayor William Flanagan and the Connecticut-based Foxwoods unveiled a plan in January to build a $750 million casino.