In Indiana, Vigo County commissioners and the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce board of directors have approved the proposed move of unused gaming positions at Rising Star Casino and Resort in Rising Sun to a new casino in Terre Haute. State Senator Jon Ford has sponsored SB 354 to allow the move.
Since 2009, revenue at Rising Star, Indiana’s smallest casino, has dropped by two-thirds. The casino is using only half of its authorized 1,500 gaming positions. The casino’s owner, Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts, said relocating unused gaming positions to an auxiliary, $100-$150 million gaming and entertainment facility in Terre Haute would create 750 direct and 500 indirect jobs and generate more than $26 million in new annual taxes. Rising Sun officials added a Terre Haute casino would bring nearly $10 million in direct benefits for Terre Haute and Vigo County.
“The gaming industry in Indiana is changing, and so the state’s view is changing with it. What are we going to do to help casinos that are struggling?” Ford said. He noted Indiana gaming also faces competition from tribal casinos, and in the future other facilities may need to move some operations, specifically in northwest Indiana where four casinos are located along Lake Michigan.
However, a recent market analysis for the Casino Association of Indiana by New Jersey-based Spectrum Gaming Group said, “The state should not even consider additional casino locations until, on a statewide basis, the industry demonstrates consistent, attractive gross gaming receipts growth (such as 5 percent or more) on a year-to-year basis.”
Full House Resorts Chief Development Officer Alex Stolyar said the analysis “took a very macro look” at the state as a whole. He said his company concluded that gaming revenue from a Terre Haute casino would be “almost all new growth” and not harm existing venues. He added the casino would be a “destination” that will bring new jobs and feature a hotel, entertainment venue, upscale bars and meeting spaces. It’s going to be a true hub for the community. Whether you want to go into a casino or not, this will be a place that you will want to visit.”
Ford said the legislature needs to act quickly to beat a proposed facility in Danville, Illinois. The Illinois Senate is considering a massive budget bill that would create new casinos in Danville and five other cities, plus establish a Chicago Casino Development Authority.
Christopher Mooney, director of the Center for Governmental Affairs at the University of Illinois Springfield, commented, “These gambling bills have come up time and time again and have really only gotten through a couple of times. They keep coming back because it’s a chimera, that thing we can just almost reach — free money and maybe some economic development for impoverished places. If you’re a betting person, always bet that nothing’s going to happen.”
