Indiana Senate approves plan for additional casino

Shannon Dininny

Tuesday, April 15, 2003 | 11:37 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The state Senate approved legislation Monday to allow a casino in southern Indiana's economically depressed Orange County, bringing proponents to the brink of fulfilling a yearslong push in the General Assembly.

The Senate voted 32-18 for the bill after more than an hour of debate. Dozens of casino boosters from French Lick and West Baden Springs applauded softly and waved from the Senate gallery as the tally was announced.

Their immediate reaction was muted only because the Senate observes a more orderly decorum than the House, and it asks the same of the public watching from seats one floor above.

But many supporters hugged after they spilled into the hallway, and they formed a semicircle around Democratic Rep. Jerry Denbo of French Lick, the proposal's longtime sponsor. He thanked them for coming to the Statehouse year after year to lobby their cause.

"You need to congratulate yourselves and pat yourself on the back. It was a total team effort," Denbo said.

Although the legislation must return to the House for consideration of changes made in the Senate, Denbo said he will sign off on the amendments and ask for a simple concurrence vote in his chamber.

If he gets a concurrence vote -- and it seems almost certain he will this week -- the bill would be sent to Gov. Frank O'Bannon, who supports the proposal.

The bill would authorize a casino to be located in a yet-to-be-constructed waterway between French Lick and West Baden Springs, which are about one mile apart. However, it would first have to be approved in a countywide referendum.

Opponents argued the bill would authorize the state's first land-based casino, and that it qualified as special legislation that would benefit only a small part of the state.

"If you think about Indiana, why is only one country that's hurting afforded the opportunity to help themselves?" asked Sen. Michael Young, R-Indianapolis.

Sen. Gary Dillon, R-Columbia City, argued the casino would not result in economic development, but instead increased gambling problems.

"The average people get low-paying jobs and have to live with the ravages of gambling," he said. "Buildings get shined up, highways get black-topped, but the average citizen gets nothing."

Supporters, though, argued the bill meets the original intentions of lawmakers when they passed the 1993 law legalizing Indiana's 10 riverboat casinos. An 11th license for Patoka Lake near French Lick has remained dormant because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the lake, has refused to allow a riverboat.

"It has zero jobs. It has zero income," said Sen. Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange. "It's their time."

The bill would allow a casino to be built on a yet-to-be constructed waterway between two historic hotels in French Lick and West Baden Springs. The Indiana Gaming Commission would take bids and select a casino operator, then regulate the casino as it does the others.

According to estimates, the casino would take in about $44 million each year in wagering revenue, and pay about $10.5 million a year in wagering and admissions taxes.

Orange County would be required to share admissions tax and wagering tax revenue with the towns of Orleans and Paoli, and with Crawford and Dubois counties.

The jobless rate in Orange County is consistently among the highest in the state, and casino backers say it is virtually impossible to land a major manufacturer because of hilly terrain, a flood plain and lack of a major highway.

A similar plan failed to gain passage last year when it was attached to other pro-gambling proposals. Leaders in the Republican-controlled Senate have said repeatedly that the bill would fail again this session of other gambling proposals were attached to it.