Good Dining, Tons of Slots and a Nice Atmosphere - Twin River Casino, Lincoln, RI
Written: Jun 03 '08 (Updated Jun 09 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Close to Providence, Boston & Worcester regions, Dining choices, Lots of slots
Cons: Can get crowded, Slots are really packed in, No real draw for travelers
The Bottom Line: If you live nearby and don’t want to travel all the way to Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods, Twin River is a nice play to spend an afternoon or an evening
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| jps246's Full Review: Twin River Casino, RI |
While it’s not quite as big or as fancy as the casinos about an hour further south in Connecticut, Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island is a decent place to spend a few hours playing your favorite slot machines.
Twin River replaced what used to be Lincoln Park, a small dog track that also included some slot machines. That was fairly small, a bit run down and basically not a place where you’d want to travel to if you didn’t live nearby.
Just about any vestige of the former Lincoln Park is gone now. The entire site has been reconstructed and expanded. There are now a ton of slot machines, different food courts and a number of finer restaurants. You can even catch a show at their theater now.
Where do I find Twin River?
The Twin River Casino is located on Twin River Road, just off of Route 146 in Lincoln, Rhode Island. It is easy to get to from Providence, RI and most of eastern Massachusetts. It’s maybe 10 minutes from Providence, 30 minutes from Worcester and an hour from Boston.
There is plenty of free parking scattered around Twin River. There are three different entrances, so no matter where you park, you should be able to quickly reach an entrance and get into the casino. However on busier days and nights, you might have to park some distance (some of the lots are quite a hike from the entrances). Valet parking is also available but during busier times, the lines can be very long and it is generally quicker to just park your car in the regular lot and walk in.
What is there to do at Twin River?
While the main attraction at Twin River is gambling, they do offer a number of other activities should you want to do something else. There are a number of different places to eat that include quick-service food court type restaurants (Dunkin Donuts, Chinese food, pizza, etc.). There’s also a buffet that serves lunch and dinner on Fridays and Saturday. Johnny Rockets serves up burgers and fries all the time. For some finer dining Carmine’s Italian Restaurant is open for dinner on Fridays and Saturday with some great Italian Food. Fred & Steve’s Steakhouse is open daily except for Mondays and Tuesdays and offers excellent steaks in a really classy atmosphere. At the Fado Irish Pub you can enjoy a meal in an Irish pub.
If you get to Twin River when there are dog races, you can go to the grandstand to watch the dog races and bet on them.
There are a number of bars in Twin River offering different kinds of settings depending on your mood. Some of them host live entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights, while at Blackstone’s you can enjoy a drink and a cigar from their cigar collection. Looking for a show? On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays you can catch a comedy act in the Catch a Rising Star show. There’s also an event center in Twin River that plays host to larger shows and concerts, though you generally have to have tickets prior to the event and can’t get them at the door.
There really isn’t any shopping to speak of at Twin River. There is the Twin River Shop and that’s about it. That sells a mix of items and you can use the points you earn on your players club card to get discounts.
Gambling at Twin River
Who goes to a casino and doesn’t gamble at least a little bit? I thought so.
Twin River is home to almost 5,000 slot machines! This means that at almost any time you can find yourself a machine, even during the busier times. This was the first thing I noticed when I went to Twin River, there are just a ton of machines. They have fitted them in almost everywhere and in each part of the casino, the rooms are just full of machines.
While the more popular machines to tend to get crowded, if you are willing to wander and perhaps play something not quite as new, you can almost always find yourself an open machine.
The machine denominations run the spectrum from penny machines up to dollar and five dollar machines. You can pretty much find anything here, though the penny, two-cent and nickel machines are probably the most numerous.
For those of us who don’t smoke there is a smoke free casino on the second floor. This is a large casino room that offers the full complement of slot machines and is also home to a food court and the Johnny Rockets restaurant. It’s a larger smoke-free area than either Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun have.
Twin River doesn’t offer table games, but they do have ‘virtual blackjack tables’ where you sit at a table, but the dealer and the game itself is computerized.
I don’t think you can really compare payouts and losses at any casino, but it does seem to come and go at Twin River. Walking around you don’t see as many jackpots as I have seen in Mohegan Sun, but a lot of the time you win enough to keep on playing or perhaps go home with a bit more than you started with. I have to admit though, I have gone home with less than I’ve started with too so don’t get the impression that you always win here.
Twin River does offer a players club called Twin River Rewards. Just like most other casinos, you put the card in while you are playing a slot machine and then based on your level of play you are offered various complimentary offers. These can include food coupons, tickets to shows and more. It’s not the best rewards program, but considering the original Lincoln Park didn’t offer one, this is a huge step up.
Prices
This is a casino after all, so expect to pay slightly inflated prices at most of the restaurants. About the only place you won’t is Dunkin Donuts. The finer restaurants push the prices a bit more. I’d say expect to spend at least $30 to $50 a person if you eat at these places, especially if you have drinks.
Places to Stay?
Twin River doesn’t have any kind of hotel, so if you want to spend the night, you are going to have to head into Providence or find a hotel in one of the nearby towns.
Ambiance & Atmosphere
Twin River’s overall gaming atmosphere is a huge improvement over the original Lincoln Park. Today the casinos are clean, the spaces are open and the airflow is good throughout all of the casinos. Staff stays attentive and keeps the place clean and offers complimentary soft drinks, coffee and water to players.
The overall design of Twin River is pretty nice too. The majority of the casino floors are open and airy. The location of the finer restaurants is nice too – the steakhouse overlooks the main casino floor, as does Carmines. Fado is located in the non-smoking casino room.
It does tend to get crowded on Friday and Saturdays, especially at night and it can be a bit trying to find a slot machine or at least not get jostled around in the crowds.
One thing I’ve never really liked is how packed in the slot machines seem to be. Sometimes it feels like you have to climb around or over people to get to one and you always seem to feel a bit closed in when it’s busy and you are surrounded by people.
Worth a visit?
If you live within an hour or two of Twin River and you like to gamble, I’d say it’s worth at least one visit. For us, it’s about a 45 minute trip, which makes it about an hour closer than Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods are for us. Since that’s the case we can go down to Twin River on a weeknight, have a nice dinner and gamble a bit without having to drive too far and without having to get home too late.
Would I recommend it as a stop for someone traveling? No, go spend your time and your money at Foxwoods, or more preferably Mohegan Sun. They are much more of a destination resort and casino than Twin River is. Twin River caters more to the day-tripper and it really isn’t a destination in of itself like Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods.
Final Thoughts
Compared to the old Lincoln Park, the Twin River Casino is a giant step up. It’s big, it has a ton of slot machines, there are a lot more choices for dining and just in general, it’s a lot nicer than what it used to be.
Nowadays I don’t mind going there for an evening where I can play for a bit and enjoy a good meal.
However for me, if I want to a day of gambling or an overnight excursion, I head to Mohegan Sun down in Connecticut.
That said, playing and eating at Twin River can be a lot of fun.
So if you live nearby and don’t want to travel all the way to Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods, Twin River is a nice play to spend an afternoon or an evening. It isn’t quite a full-service resort and casino, but what it does have, it presents quite nicely.
Other nearby Casinos
Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino
Foxwoods Resort and Casino
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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