Column: Anti-gaming governor took gaming money

Monday, August 21, 2006  

"When Republican Lincoln Almond emerged last week as chairman of Save Our State, the coalition opposing a West Warwick casino, it was the match of a man with a moment.

The retired former governor and U.S. Attorney, 70, brings to the role a lifetime of experience and skill. He's a decent guy, was a decent governor, with ups and downs, and too laid back to suit some people, but he has a great reputation for integrity.

And no issue ever piqued his fury more than gambling. Get get him going on betting and he dons his prosecutorial mantle and launches into messianic tirades of argument, anecdote and hyperbole.

[Narragansett Chief Sachem Matthew] Thomas paints Almond as a hypocrite because the then-governor several years ago visited the Mashantucket Pequot Nation, operators of the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut, to solicit a contribution to the University of Rhode Island's Ryan Center. The tribe quietly donated $500,000 for the arena, the signature building of Almond's governorship.

Thomas says, "If you're so opposed to gambling . . . why accept money from the Pequots?"

Good one, Chief."

Get the Story:
M. Charles Bakst: Almond to the rescue (The Providence Journal 8/20)
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