November 1

In Rhode Island, online slots players and land-casino gamblers alike, are learning that the state's thriving casino gambling industry is showing its first signs of a slow period.

For many years, slot machines at Lincoln Park and Newport Grand have seen double-digit growth. But now -- while the machines are still extremely profitable -- they are not producing the same boom, and that could have grave ramifications for the state.

The 2005 state budget is based on the assumption that slot-machine revenue would increase by 15.3 percent. However, data presented yesterday by the Rhode Island Lottery show that since the start of the fiscal year on July 1, there has been only a 4.2-percent bump.

As it stands, the slot revenue is $5.7 million short of expectations, and revenue from other lottery games is down $1.6 million, according to House Fiscal Adviser Michael O'Keefe.

The news comes just as Lincoln Park today brings on line 600 new slot machines on its second floor. The added units are the first of 1,750 machines authorized by the General Assembly and Governor Carcieri in July and bring Lincoln Park to 3,602 total slots, about half of what Foxwoods Resort Casino has.

Lincoln Park officials would not say why their pace of expansion had slowed down.