After 22 years of continuous operation, Indiana’s first riverboat, Casino Aztar in Evansville, closed at 5:59 a.m. on Monday, October 16. At 10:00 a.m. on Friday, October 20, the new million, land-based Tropicana Evansville opened across the street from the shuttered riverboat. General Manager John Chaszar said, “When you go to this new facility, you can go with a group of people that have diverse intentions. You can have someone who wants to have a beer and watch a game, you can have someone who wants to play some blackjack or sit on a slot machine, or folks who want to sit in the lounge and listen to music or dance. It’s one giant entertainment experience, versus a gambling experience. It will change the way people think about gaming in Evansville.”
Advertising & Public Relations Manager Andy Herbertz added, “The biggest benefit will be that it is accessible from the Tropicana Evansville hotel and Le Merigot hotel, from our parking garage and our conference center. Easy access in and out. And of course it’s 45,000 square feet of gaming, all on one level.”
On November 2, 1993, Vanderburgh County voters approved a referendum allowing casino gambling. Slightly more than one year later, Casino Aztar opened on December 8, 1995; it was rebranded as Tropicana Evansville in 2013. In 2015, the Indiana legislature voted to allow land-based casinos and then-Governor Mike Pence let the legislation become law without his signature. The state gaming commission unanimously approved Tropicana Evansville’s proposal to move to land on February 24, 2016.
According to the Indiana Gaming Commission, in its first fiscal year, Casino Aztar had about 2 million admissions annually. But as competition grew in Indiana and nearby states, in the latest fiscal year admissions had dropped to 1.15 million. Tax revenue in 2017 was $32.1 million, with $10 million going to Evansville, which directs the funds primarily to capital projects, and $2 million to Vanderburgh County.
Indiana Gaming Commission Executive Director Sara Gonso Tait said the new casino “is absolutely breathtaking. I think the city of Evansville and future patrons will be blown away by what they see.”
