ANDERSON | The vessel that has been home to Horseshoe Casino Hammond will be on the auction block in a matter of months, but for now the boat is reeling in a whale of a tax break.

The Indiana Gaming Commission signed off Wednesday on Harrah's decision to shift ownership of the Hammond riverboat from its Horseshoe subsidiary to a new offshoot known as Biloxi Hammond LLC.

"Horseshoe will lease those assets from Biloxi," explained Lea Ellingwood, a Gaming Commission attorney. "Harrah's estimates that this will result in a federal tax gain of approximately $500 million."

The move allows Harrah's to take advantage of tax concessions made in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed the company's Biloxi, Miss., riverboat in 2005. A new casino is under construction there.

Meanwhile, Horseshoe has set a late summer target for christening a new $500 million Hammond riverboat that will more than double the size of its casino floor and putting the current boat up for bid.

"It is my understanding that they are marketing that boat," said Ernest Yelton, the Gaming Commission's executive director. "They are attempting to sell it. ... Actually, it's probably a steal."

The Gaming Commission met Wednesday at Hoosier Park to get a sneak peek at the gambling parlor the Anderson horse track will open next week. The media wasn't invited to tour the new so-called "racino," which is to feature 2,000 electronic gaming machines.

The General Assembly last year sold $250 million licenses allowing Hoosier Park and another horse track near Shelbyville to get into the casino game. Lawmakers dedicated the windfall to property tax relief, including the rebate checks region homeowners received this month.

The Gaming Commission also granted one-year license renewals for Horseshoe Hammond and Resorts East Chicago, which soon will be renamed Ameristar Casino East Chicago, after its new owner.