Dockside gambling bill will be floated again

Monday, Dec. 4, 2000 | 10:52 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS -- Northwest Indiana lawmakers are vowing to step up their efforts to win approval for dockside gambling when the General Assembly reconvenes next month.

Dockside gambling would allow Indiana casinos to better compete with other states that have eliminated cruise requirements like Illinois.

State Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, is convinced legislation to permit gambling on moored boats has a chance, despite failed attempts in previous years.

"The issue is essentially unchanged from the last session. It's extremely important to a number of us from northwest Indiana," Pelath said. "It's my intention and the intention of others to make a concerted push for it. Nobody said it's going to be easy."

Democratic Gov. Frank O'Bannon has opposed the measure in the past.

"I consider it an expansion of gambling," O'Bannon said.

But the governor stops short of threatening to veto the legislation, which would lift a requirement that casino boats cruise on water before allowing customers to wager.

Pelath and others can count on the support and financial backing of the state's gaming industry.

"There's definitely going to be a push on our part for dockside," said Shawn Platt, a spokesman for Harrah's East Chicago Casino. "If you look at it from a business standpoint, we want to continue to grow and expand, but in order to do that we need the competitive edge."

During the last session, House Speaker John Gregg, D-Sandborn single-handedly sunk dockside legislation, refusing to give proponents a hearing.