2008 Woodie Awards
It's a Prime Time for rumors
Owen Larkin '07
Issue date: 9/15/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Last spring, Prime Time Café, located on 161 Douglas Ave., closed, thus removing a late-night staple from the Providence College community. Rumors and speculation as to why it closed flourished on campus, but the true cause may not be the one perceived by many students and faculty alike. All that one can be sure of, however, is that there is now a serious lack of tequila shots and dancing for the PC student-well, at least in public.
Perhaps the biggest reason for all the rumors can be summed up in one word: gambling. Following a 70-day investigation conducted by the FBI, Rhode Island State Police, and many local police departments, the police busted a sports-betting gambling ring, resulting in a large sweep and the indictments of 18 men.
The sports-betting ring is said to have generated approximately $3 million a month and has been connected to several alleged organized crime figures-and possibly to organized crime in Boston. The police stated that the ring was run out of three local bars: Prime Time, Danny's, and the Eagle Park Independent Club, known endearingly to us as Old's.
According to The Providence Journal, Major Steven O'Donnell stated that, "they'd go into the bathrooms, hold court in the basements." As for the validity of the statement, I have no claims to make. I have, however, been in the bathrooms at all these bars, as most of us have. The only courting I have ever seen in the bathroom at Prime Time has been between two intoxicated students, not major players in a multi-million-dollar-a-month gambling ring.
This article is not, however, about gambling, but about the fact that our beloved Prime Time no longer exists, and the reasons behind it. I spoke briefly with Joseph Petit, who operated Prime Time, and although I wish I could have spoken with him in greater depth, he had many interesting points to make. When asked about the true reason for the close of Prime Time, he had a simple answer: The decision was "100-percent business."
Perhaps the biggest reason for all the rumors can be summed up in one word: gambling. Following a 70-day investigation conducted by the FBI, Rhode Island State Police, and many local police departments, the police busted a sports-betting gambling ring, resulting in a large sweep and the indictments of 18 men.
The sports-betting ring is said to have generated approximately $3 million a month and has been connected to several alleged organized crime figures-and possibly to organized crime in Boston. The police stated that the ring was run out of three local bars: Prime Time, Danny's, and the Eagle Park Independent Club, known endearingly to us as Old's.
According to The Providence Journal, Major Steven O'Donnell stated that, "they'd go into the bathrooms, hold court in the basements." As for the validity of the statement, I have no claims to make. I have, however, been in the bathrooms at all these bars, as most of us have. The only courting I have ever seen in the bathroom at Prime Time has been between two intoxicated students, not major players in a multi-million-dollar-a-month gambling ring.
This article is not, however, about gambling, but about the fact that our beloved Prime Time no longer exists, and the reasons behind it. I spoke briefly with Joseph Petit, who operated Prime Time, and although I wish I could have spoken with him in greater depth, he had many interesting points to make. When asked about the true reason for the close of Prime Time, he had a simple answer: The decision was "100-percent business."