Gary officials enthusiastic about land-based casino idea

INDIANAPOLIS | Gary officials on Tuesday embraced the recommendation of a legislative panel that the city's Lake Michigan casinos be allowed to relocate onto land.

State Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, said she is optimistic legislation she will introduce permitting the move will win the support of the General Assembly.

"The fact that it's gone through this vetting process and that was their finding, then I think that always bodes well for any legislation that you have," Rogers said.

Gary Mayor Rudy Clay, who attended Tuesday's Statehouse meeting of the Gaming Study Committee, said it's the city's "top priority" to establish a land-based casino in Gary.

"We've got to come out of this Rip Van Winkle age of these riverboats," Clay said. "It's time to move forward here with land-based casinos and match these other states that are getting ready to put them up."

The legislature's Gaming Study Committee was charged with finding ways to keep Indiana's casino industry viable in the face of new competition from casinos in Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. Hoosier casinos employ more than 15,000 workers and pay more than $1 billion annually in taxes and fees to state and local governments.

Among its findings, the committee said consolidating Gary's two Majestic Star casino boats and gaming licenses into a single license at a land-based location in Gary would best serve the city and Indiana.

The state would reap an estimated $11 million in new wagering tax revenue if a land-based casino was located along the Borman Expressway near Interstate 65, according to the committee report.

Rogers said that estimate is too low because it doesn't account for new gamblers playing at the new casino. The state and city also will benefit because "floodgates will open" of new development near the casino, improving sales and property tax revenues, she said.

State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, said he hopes new revenue from a land-based casino will be used to build a teaching hospital in Gary.

The committee did not limit its land-based finding solely to Gary. Other casinos also could try to win legislative approval to move onto land.

Riverboat casinos that move onto land should pay the state a fee for permission to move, the committee said.

For casinos that remain on water, the committee said riverboats should no longer be required to maintain marine engines, navigation systems and crew, since the boats never leave the dock.