Raimondo Solicits Twin River, IGT for NGA Mtg & Pushed for Millions in Budget for Companies
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo solicited tens of thousands of dollars in sponsorships from gaming companies Twin River and British gambling company IGT for the National Governors Association (NGA) Summer Meeting in Providence this week.
Raimondo’s office, her consultant Cara Cromwell, and the NGA however all refused to say how much Twin River, IGT, and others paid for the sponsorships -- and special access to the more than 30 Governors in attendance.
RI Budget, National Sponsorships
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTGoLocal has learned that while the Governor’s office and her consultant were negotiating special access and speaking engagements, the Governor’s legislative team had pushed a provision into the now stalled budget that shifts millions of dollars from the state coffers to Twin River and their gaming partner IGT - once Rhode Island’s GTECH.
As part of IGT’s sponsorship, Don Sweitzer, a long-time Democratic party operative and Chairman of IGT’s Global Solutions Corporation, will present to a Governors-only presentation this week. The title of the one-hour presentation is, “CEO Roundtable: Innovative Leadership Ideas that Work.”
Sweitzer was offered the position of Chief of Staff to Raimondo. He and his wife Sheri have donated more than $119,000 to Rhode Island state candidates, including $7,450 to Raimondo.
Employees of IGT and its predecessor company GTECH have donated approximately $400,000 to candidates and elected officials in Rhode Island.
Simultaneous to Raimondo’s solicitation for sponsorship, the Raimondo administration was pushing a budget provision that provides millions to the gaming companies for ”marketing dollars”
In 2016, the amount of “marketing dollars” was worth more than $50 million between Lincoln and Newport and if the budget passes with the Raimondo supported “marketing dollars,” Twin River could have $75 million or more to promote their two facilities when Tiverton comes online.
The amendments in Article 8 of the budget to the state's casino law, a complex agreement between the State and Twin River's parent company UTGR, if ever adopted both the casino operator and their partner IGT - will benefit from the changes.
If the budget passes Twin River realized a windfall of marketing assets funded by state taxpayers
Beyond IGT and Twin River
Only a select group of companies have unfettered access to Governors in attendance via an “Innovation Pavilion” located just outside the Governors' meeting area in the Rhode Island Convention Center.
The following companies are allowed to exhibit in the “Innovation Pavilion” — • Amgen • AT&T • CVS Health • Fidelity • General Dynamics • Intel • International Gaming Technologies (IGT) • Mars • Microsoft • National Grid • Raytheon • U.S. Communities.
Related Articles
- Governor Raimondo Has Had A Very Bad Ten Days
- RI Commerce Vice Chair and Raimondo Appointee is Massachusetts Resident
- Raimondo Calls PawSox $38 Million Ask a “Good Deal” for RI Taxpayers
- Raimondo’s Husband Teaches at Brown & Other Interesting Disclosures in Latest RI Ethics Filings
- Fung Blasts Raimondo’s Record During Appearance on GoLocal LIVE
- Raimondo Appoints Beane, Hawkins to Lead Human Services
- RI’s Failed Revenue Numbers Could Change the Governor’s Race for Raimondo
- Magaziner Announces RI has Withdrawn $340 Million From Hedge Funds, Strategy Shift from Raimondo
- My Position on Marijuana Legalization Has Evolved, Says Raimondo on GoLocal LIVE
- RI’s Revenues Collapse: Raimondo Blames Trump, Mattiello Blames Raimondo: UPDATED
- Chafee: Raimondo “Clueless” to Magnitude of Revenue Shortfall
- Twin River Workers to Strike on Friday, RI Revenues Could Be Impacted, & Raimondo Monitoring
- Chafee Says Raimondo is RI’s “Hillary Clinton”
- RI Commerce Promotes Raimondo Video; RIers Lash Out on Social Media
- Raimondo on PawSox, Vetoes, Trudeau Coming to RI, and More
- EcoRI’s Carini on Raimondo’s “Regret” Over Putting “Thumb on the Scale” in Invenergy Debate
- RI Ranked One of Worst States to Start a Business in U.S., Are Raimondo’s Policies Working?
- Mattiello and Sasse Say Raimondo’s CCRI Free Tuition End-Around is Illegal
- Raimondo Appoints Long to Superior Court
- Raimondo’s CCRI Free Tuition You Need a 2.5 GPA, But Free Diapers Requires a 3.0 GPA
- Leading Progressive Democrat Unloads on Raimondo’s “Corrupt Right-Wing Machine”
- LIVE: Raimondo’s Mixed Signals on Paris & Burrillville, Bradford Dam Removal, and More
- Raimondo’s Economic Priorities Take the Biggest Cuts in the New Budget — Over $20M
- Save the Bay Criticizes Raimondo and Mattiello for Budget Cuts to Environment
