Indiana's two horse tracks get final slot machine approval

BY PATRICK GUINANE, Times of Northwest Indiana
pguinane@nwitimes.com

INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana Gaming Commission removed the final regulatory hurdles Monday for two downstate horse tracks to begin offering casino gambling this summer.

Hoosier Park in Anderson and Indiana Downs near Shelbyville each won final licensing approval to open gaming parlors that will feature 2,000 electronic slot machines. The Indiana General Assembly last year sold the tracks $250 million licenses to open the "racinos."

Jim Brown, general manager of gaming for Hoosier Park, said the track's revamped facility, scheduled to open in early June, will offer customers a "fully integrated racing, gaming and dining experience." Planned amenities include a high-limit area featuring a pair of $100 slot machines, a New York-style deli just off the gaming floor and large window views of the track's home stretch.

"Even though you're not going to have a boat, welcome aboard," Gaming Commission Chairman William Barrett said after the board approved Hoosier Park's license.

Indiana Downs made a similar presentation to the commission, highlighting a $170 million facility that will feature a high-end steakhouse and a NASCAR-themed sports bar.

Rick Mazer, general manager of Horseshoe Casino in Hammond and the company's regional president, said the racinos don't represent much of a geographic threat to Northwest Indiana's five Lake Michigan riverboat casinos. Horseshoe expects to set the bar for region gamblers when it's new $500 million Hammond casino opens later this year.

"The Horseshoe Hammond property, which has been under construction, is now actually ahead of schedule," Mazer said. "We anticipate still opening up toward the late summer. But that is such a large project -- there's so many moving pieces -- it's hard to say exactly what date it will come in on."

The Horseshoe grand opening has been targeted for September, but Mazer said a July or August ribbon cutting remains possible.

While the racinos in Anderson and Shelbyville cannot offer roulette, blackjack and other traditional table games, the Gaming Commission approved rules Monday to authorize supervised electronic table games.The commission would have to sign off on any such proposal.

The Gaming Commission also appointed Tom Dingman, a former Harrah's executive, as special administrator for Casino Aztar in Evansville. Dingman will be at the helm the next three months while Aztar's troubled parent company, Tropicana Entertainment LLC, negotiates a $245 million sale of the Evansville casino to Eldorado Resorts LLC.

Both the sale and Dingman's appointment were announced Monday. Tropicana, which acquired Aztar Corp. in a more than $2 billion deal last year, was found unsuitable for license renewal last year by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.