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Gaming executive drops bid to run Twin River slot parlor

11:20 AM Mon, Nov 02, 2009 | Permalink
By Paul Grimaldi

A Las Vegas gaming executive has dropped his bid for a license to operate a gaming facility in Rhode Island amid concerns about his efforts to create a Massachusetts casino that would compete with the Twin River slot parlor.

William H. Warner, of Warner Gaming, on Friday informed the R.I. Department of Business Regulation that he was withdrawing his application for a gaming operator's license, according to Michael Marques, the department's director.

The department began reviewing Warner's background last summer when he came under consideration for taking over management of the financially troubled Twin River operation. The company that operates Twin River, UTGR Inc., filed for federal bankruptcy protection in June.

In October, Warner and a partner unveiled a proposal to build a resort casino in Milford, Mass., joining the crowd of developers betting that opposition to casino gambling in Massachusetts will finally crumble under the weight of the Bay State's deep financial problems. Warner's proposal -- known as the Crossroads Resort Project -- would create a gambling complex that could house 5,000 slot machines, 250 gambling tables, hotel rooms, restaurants and all the accoutrements of a full-fledged casino resort.

That proposal apparently raised the hackles of the lenders trying to realign Twin River's finances, according to Marques.

"He indicated he was withdrawing his application because [UTGR's] lenders communicated to him that the were not comfortable with his plans for gaming in another state," Marques said.