Local officials on both sides of question: Would casino boost Vigo County economy?

The casino's owner, Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts, wants to move unused positions to Terre Haute and create an entertainment "destination." State Sen. Jon Ford, R-Terre Haute, is sponsoring legislation, Senate Bill 354, to allow the move.

Many local leaders welcome the idea, but others want more time for study. Economists also warn that casinos are a mixed bag when it comes to job creation and financial impact.

Reflecting a statewide trend, revenue at Rising Star, located in the small Ohio River town of Rising Sun, declined each year between 2009 and 2015. While the decline continued last year at other Indiana casinos, Rising Star rebounded after new corporate management began reinvesting in the property.

Full House says relocating unused gaming positions to an auxiliary gaming and entertainment facility in Terre Haute would provide the Wabash Valley with needed jobs and economic development while protecting jobs and tax revenues for Rising Sun, which faces competition from new casinos and other gaming venues in and around Cincinnati.

A December market analysis for the Casino Association of Indiana by New Jersey-based Spectrum Gaming Group said, “The state should not even consider additional casino locations until, on a statewide basis, the industry demonstrates consistent, attractive gross gaming receipts growth (such as 5 percent or more) on a year-to-year basis.”

Representatives of the association did not respond to requests for comment, but Full House chief development officer Alex Stolyar and Ford believe the proposed move of gaming positions is within the state's existing framework and the timing may be right.

Changing landscape

Stolyar said the analysis “took a very macro look” at the state as a whole. He said his company concluded that gaming revenue from a Terre Haute casino would be “almost all new growth” and not harm existing venues.

“The gaming industry in Indiana is changing, and so the state's view is changing with it,” said Ford. “What are we going to do to help casinos that are struggling?”

Ford said Indiana gaming also faces competition from tribal casinos, and other facilities may see a need to move some operations, specifically in northwest Indiana, which is home to four casinos along Lake Michigan.

Legislators and other state officials recognize the need to help spark development in Terre Haute, Ford said. He and Stolyar said the casino would complement a planned local convention center authorized by state legislation in 2015.

The casino would represent a $100 million to $150 million investment on a 20- to 25-acre site that is yet to be determined, said Stolyar. Full House will not seek property tax abatement for the project, he added.

Leaders, economists weigh in

While local government leaders generally welcome the investment, others want more time to study the proposal, and some economists warn that casinos are not the job-creating powerhouses supporters claim.

The proposed casino would generate 750 direct and 500 indirect jobs, and contribute more than $26 million annually in new taxes, according to Rising Sun officials, who project nearly $10 million in direct benefits for Terre Haute and Vigo County.

The casino jobs would be mostly full time with pay in the low- to mid-$30,000 range, and most employees would come from the Wabash Valley, Stolyar said.

"From what I know about the project, it's a tremendous investment and should be a net positive impact to our local economy," said Steve Witt, president of the Terre Haute Economic Development Corp. "We know there are people who don't like casinos, but we also recognize that a lot of folks in the community do enjoy that type of entertainment and will travel to other places to do that.

"If this is an opportunity for them to stay home and take part in their pastime and be of economic benefit to the community, we see that as a positive," Witt said.

Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, said casinos “tend to fairly dramatically adjust the composition of local employment, but not have much impact on other wages or levels of employment.”

In the long run, Hicks said, employment at a Terre Haute casino “will be cannibalized from existing labor in the region.”

John Kindt, professor emeritus of business and legal policy at the University of Illinois, agrees casinos siphon jobs from other sectors of the economy.

About 90 percent of casino revenue comes from slot machines, he said. “Slot machines don't create jobs. All you do is dust them off and collect the money,” he said, adding that each machine generates about $100,000 annually in profit.

More than gaming

But Stolyar says the legislation requires 50 percent of the total investment in the casino to be devoted to non-gaming activity.

He said the casino would be a "destination" that will bring new jobs and feature a hotel, entertainment venue, upscale bars and meeting spaces. "It's going to be a true hub for the community. Whether you want to go into a casino or not, this will be a place that you will want to visit."

The casino will also work with local golf courses to provide additional recreational opportunities for patrons, Stolyar said, welcome news to Mayor Duke Bennett, who spoke about the proposed partnership during a presentation to the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. City golf courses have been operating at a deficit for several years.

Restaurants and other businesses near a casino would benefit from the casino's large workforce, Stolyar added. "The employees that we have, when they get off work, want to go somewhere else," he said.

State oversight

Kindt, a casino critic, contends that states often lose out on potential revenue because of behind-the-scenes deals lawmakers make with casino owners.

"By 2008, the lobbying monies and power of gambling interests were the largest influences and dominant forces in 26 state governments," according to a 2008 report on U.S. and international gambling produced at the University of Illinois.

Kindt said Indiana was among the 26 states, and the list was confirmed in subsequent volumes of the report from 2009-13.

Ford denied the Hoosier state belongs on such a list.

"When we started 20 years ago, we put some hard restrictions on the casinos. If you deliver bread, you're going through a background check," he said, also citing addiction training and licensing restrictions.

"Look at what we're having to do (to move unused gaming spots)," he said. "The General Assembly really watches the industry and controls it. We set up a gaming commission that had authority like no other gaming commission at that time, maybe (except for) Nevada. We have a very strict regulatory environment. The gaming association has not been very powerful."

Terre Haute vs. Danville?

Sen. Ford has said quick action is needed to get the jump on a proposed facility in Danville, Illinois.

A budget bill before the Illinois Senate provides for new casinos in Danville and five other cities and creates a Chicago Casino Development Authority.

Veteran Springfield watchers say such proposals routinely collapse as more communities are added to the list to generate support.

"These gambling bills have come up time and time again and have really only gotten through a couple of times, said Christopher Mooney, director of the Center for Governmental Affairs at the University of Illinois Springfield.

The proposals "keep coming back because it's a chimera, that thing we can just almost reach — free money and maybe some economic development for impoverished places. If you're a betting person, always bet that nothing's going to happen."

Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer, who has been lobbying for a casino for years, told that city's Commercial-News he is less concerned about a potential Terre Haute casino than the proliferation of video gaming machines in Illinois