Twin River Launches Social Media Campaign To Build Support

As a part of its marketing campaign to swing public support for building a new casino in the city of Tiverton, Rhode Island , the Twin River Management Group has released a series of Twitter videos that have been designed to educate the public. The referendum to get approval from the state voters is scheduled for November 2016.

Various stakeholders including employees, contractors and casino management are seen speaking in these videos highlighting the benefits that a new casino will bring. The Twin River Management Group currently operates two casinos in Rhode Island which is the Newport Grand slots parlor and the Twin River Casino in Lincoln. If the referendum is passed and a new casino is approved, the casino license under which Newport Grand is operating will be moved to the new Tiverton casino.

The Twitter campaign is seeking to highlight that the new casino would be able to stave off competition from upcoming casinos such as the Mashpee-Wampanoag casino in Taunton and at the same time generating jobs and revenue for the local communities.

The Plainridge Park Casino located in Plainville, Massachusetts which opened in 2015 has so far not had a significant impact on Rhode Island’s casinos but the state’s revenue from the two existing Twin River casinos did decline from $325 million in 2015 to $308.7 million in June 2016, based on yearly calculation ending June 30th.

In one of the videos, David Sousa director of slot operations at the Newport Grand slot parlor has discussed how the casino has given him as an immigrant, the opportunity to build a strong foundation for his family. Another video highlights how the casino employs local suppliers and helps to sustain small businesses. The casino operator has also taken significant efforts to involve Tiverton citizens in the design process for the new casino in a bid to reduce opposition to the project.

Casino spokeswoman Patti Doyle said that the videos were shot by casino owners on the same day that the referendum campaign was launched in June. A full-fledged advertising campaign will be launched in September.

The campaign videos include prominent local leaders such as Michael Sabitoni, president of the Rhode Island Building & Construction Trades Council and George Nee, president of the R.I. AFL-CIO. Nee is seen commenting in the video that the new casino location would enable more gaming and entertainment facilities to be developed and would bring gaming facilities closer to consumers.

Adrian Sterne

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