More Slot Machines for Newport?

Newport Grande would like to add more slot machines as well as a hotel, but is running into a bit of trouble from the City Council. The council says that the zone they are in does not allow for the slot machines or for expansion and refuses to give them a zone change. Newport maintains that the council is listening to residents who don’t want to see them expand the number of slot machines that they have and that is why they rejected their proposal.

Newport has filed suit against the council saying that they acted illegally in rejecting the proposal. While they wait to see if their slot machines will win or not, they have gone ahead with a different proposal. They have added to the number of slot machines that they would be bringing in, and are looking to add a larger stand alone hotel than the one they originally considered adding to the existing facility.

They had been approved to expand the number of slot machines from a little over 1,300 to a little over 2,100 by the state. With the new plan, they are looking to raise the number to somewhere around 1,900 – until they figure out where the rest will go. They say they can bring in as many as 100 new slot machines this summer, with the rest to be added by early 2008.

When asked why they were continuing with the lawsuit now that they have seemingly changed course for the moment, the company said that because the move was illegally made by the council, they needed to have the lawsuit play itself out. They said that any company would want that.
 

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