After having lunch at my home with my Aunt Nancy, cousin Liz, Jowanna, Tony and I we all headed to Twin Rivers Casino in Lincoln, RI. I hear Twin Rivers advertised on TV and Radio often; I hadn’t been there and wanted to see what all the excitement is about and see how wheelchair accessible it is.
Twin River claims it offers the area’s hottest video slots with the largest variety of video slots, video poker and keno areas in New England. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. Located at Twin Rivers are 16 dining facilities and some bars.
Parking is easy for they offer Free Valet parking. If you don’t want to valet park your car you will find plenty of handicap parking spaces close to all three entrances. All entrances have my favorite kind of automatic doors; as soon as you approach they open wide.
The Lobby is spacious with plenty of open room to wheel your chair. Elevators will take you to all three levels. Twin Rivers has no barriers or steps; all sloped floors have side railings on both sides.
We found a slot machine we wanted to play. We then noticed that all slot machines have seats bolted to the floor; these seats can be removed by a slot host with a key; there is a call for help button on the slot machines; yet we pushed it and no one came to help; Tony then went to look for a slot host and it took a very long time for him to find a slot host who could help us remove the seat. Finally a nice slot host unlocked the bolted chair and removed it for my wheelchair to fit.
Each slot has a bill receptor where you place your money; it takes $5, $10, $20 or $100 bills; problem is I couldn’t reach it on the slot machine I was playing; it is a little too high so Tony had to put the bill in for me. My Aunt told me that she saw some slot machines that have the bill receptors lower; if you’re alone and you want to play a slot machine, check and see if the bill receptor is within your reach before you have the chair removed.
Another problem I faced is the bill receptor wouldn’t accept my $10 bill. My Aunt Nancy tried a few other slots close to us and the bill receptors wouldn’t take the bill either; she finally found a slot which took her $10 and she cashed out a $10 paper voucher that we used for my machine because my machine would take the paper voucher; I pushed the button a few times and before I knew it POOF – my $10 was gone. We had no luck; yet with the casino declaring bankruptcy and the poor economy of the State of Rhode Island; we didn’t expect slots to pay well especially since casinos can control the slot’s payout.
I found the casino is a little dark; and the slot machines are very loud; playing music and sounding off when you get free spins. My aunt played ‘It’z A party’ slot for a short while and got so excited when she got the free spins yet she won nothing!
All the aisles are wide enough for my chair. A bar in the center of the casino is wheelchair accessible; a small section has a lower countertop of a perfect wheelchair accessible height; a large screen TV above the bar and on various walls throughout the casino are easy for all customers to view; even while you’re playing a slot machine; good way to keep customers at their seat for they can watch the NFL playoff games while playing slots.
The restrooms are spacious, wheelchair accessible and fully ADA compliant; entering is easy; there are no doors to open; it is an open entrance with a slight turn to access; Once inside I saw a larger handicap stall for a customer in a wheelchair with safety grab bars behind and next to the toilet; there is another smaller handicap accessible stall that is narrower with safety grab bars on either side for a person who has difficulty with walking or balance to use. All the sinks are accessible; pipes are not exposed; facet automatically turns on as soon as you place your hand underneath; soap and paper towel dispenser easily within my reach.
Overall Twin Rivers Casino is a very accessible place to visit and play the slots if you enjoy losing money. I’d prefer to spend my money on clothes, dining out and entertainment.
I give Twin Rivers Casino FOUR STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the Fifth Star they would need to ensure there are enough slot hosts working who are readily available to help a customer with a disability remove a chair from the slot machine; place the bill receptors on all slot machines within reach of customers seated in wheelchairs; and ensure all bill receptors are in proper working order.