Indiana Legislators to again weigh merits of land-based casinos

Majestic Star and other Northwest Indiana casinos have faced declining revenues in the past few years based on increased competition from Illinois casinos and the estimated 18,000 video slot machines that have popped up in Illinois bars.

An Indiana General Assembly study committee recommended the land-based casino proposal in October, as well as finding ways to replace the $3 admission tax, allowing live dealers at “racinos” and various tax incentives.

Liguori said a change in the law would allow Majestic Star to build the casino — estimated between $95 million and $135 million — next to the adjacent hotel. It could mean an additional 1,900 construction jobs.

“It’s almost a job protection initiative,” Liguori said. ”We’re trying to stop a decline in revenue that has been consistent.”

The five Northwest Indiana casinos took in a total of $80.2 million in revenues in December, compared with $75.75 million in December 2013, according to the monthly revenue report issued Thursday by the Indiana Gaming Commission.

Northwestern Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council business manager Randy Palmateer said he would welcome such a project.

“It would be good for economic development,” Palmateer said. “Building a land-based casino would be a nice, sizable project, especially as the BP Whiting Refinery expansion project has wound down.”

Gov. Mike Pence doesn’t support the idea, calling it an expansion of gambling. But Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, said she’s hopeful he and others skeptical of the idea will see how current policy is hampering the casinos.

“For example, Majestic Star is different from most other casinos,” Rogers said. “It’s one of maybe two that still has to have a marine crew. Because of how the boats are positioned, the turbulence when a storm happens can cause the boat to close.”

Ideas to revise gambling laws crop up every year, said Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., but he thinks the land-based casino idea might get more traction this year. That’s due in part to Majestic abandoning plans to move the casino to property adjacent to the Borman Expressway. In the past, Horseshoe Hammond and Ameristar Casino of East Chicago have opposed such proposals.

“Most people who I talk to think it’s a reasonable proposal,” McDermott said. “It’ll quiet people like myself up who saw Majestic moving next to the Borman as changing the rules of the game.

“The gaming laws were created in 1993, but the industry has evolved and it’s time for us to take the next step.”

In fiscal year 2014, statewide gambling revenue fell by $99 million, or about 13 percent, according to Indiana Gaming Commission — its lowest level since 2002.

But getting all of Indiana’s gambling interests and the Indiana General Assembly to agree to large package might be a big lift, analyst Ed Feigenbaum said.

“In 2009, there were similar recommendations and Sen. (Luke) Kenley said everybody needs to give up their balkanized perspectives and realize there are going to be winners and losers with the legislation, but we need to take statewide perspective,” Feigenbaum said. “Everybody said yes but when it came time to vote, they went their own ways and represented their local interests.

“There are so many unanswered questions about what the legislation will end up looking like.”

Changes to the admission or wagering taxes could garner opposition from municipalities, which depend on the nearly $700 million received in fiscal year 2014. Hammond, for example, receives up to $7.5 million in admission tax revenues from Horseshoe annually, which accounts for almost all of the Hammond Port Authority’s budget, McDermott said.

“I keep hearing from legislators in Indianapolis about them taking more and more away from municipalities in the name of cutting taxes, but pretty soon there’s going to be nothing left for essential services,” McDermott said. “Indianapolis is making it impossible to run cities.”