PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Senate has unanimously approved an 11th-hour bill described by the Chafee Administration as critical to the launch -- within days -- of live, state-operated casino gambling at the privately-owned Twin River in Lincoln.
The bill defines a "casino crime'' and the penalties for it.
Any cheating by a patron -- or employee -- would be subject to a potential 10 years in jail and $100,000 fine. That could include everything from "intentionally taking advantage of a malfunctioning machine," to "infiltrating a computer system."
A reworked version of the bill introduced last week, hit the Senate floor one day after winning approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee, and without the usual two-calendar-day notice.
Asked how the 58-page bill made it to the Senate calendar so fast, spokesman Greg Pare said the Judiciary Committee voted before the start of Tuesday's Senate session, so the day technically counted as two "legislative days.''
"It's not as if they didn't know the deadline for opening was coming,'' said Common Cause's "mystified'' executive director John Marion. "Too bad to see the Chafee Administration join in some of the last minute shenanigans that have been abused by legislative leaders for a long time.
Asked when the House might vote, spokesman Larry Berman said: "To be determined.''