Editorial: Non-Indian gaming expansion sends warning sign

The official conversion last week of Twin River in Lincoln R.I. from video slots parlor to a casino venue offering diverse gambling choices was one more reminder of how dramatically the gaming landscape is changing.

To boost revenues to the state and try to ensure the viability of Twin River, Rhode Island lawmakers approved legislation allowing the addition of black jack, roulette, craps and other table games. This will almost certainly siphon off patrons from Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts who may have previously frequented the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort casinos in southeastern Connecticut.

New slots parlors and casinos opened in Maine and New York in 2012. And Massachusetts is proceeding slow but steady with its plans to license three casinos and one slots parlor in that state, a move that will certainly hurt Connecticut's tribal casinos, making them grow more dependent on in-state gamblers.