By ROGER MOON,
Times-Mail
roger@tmnews.com
FRENCH LICK - Voting for a proposal to allow slot machines at Indiana horse racing tracks was, in the words of State Rep. Jerry Denbo, "the right thing to do."
Denbo, D-French Lick, was one of the legislators who, in a 9-3 vote, gave approval for the measure to move from its original House committee to the House Ways and Means Committee. But, the move came despite the fact that leaders, elected and otherwise, in Orange County, had voiced their views that slot machines at tracks in Anderson and Shelbyville will shift gamblers away from the French Lick casino.
On Tuesday, the measure won approval in the Ways and Means Committee and advanced to the full House.
Jerry Fuhs, chairman of the Historic Hotels Preservation Commission, said, "There's no question that having slot machines at the racetracks will have a negative impact on this operation." The HHPC is the local panel that negotiated with prospective casino operators in Orange County, a process that resulted in the Cook Group and Lauth Group partnership opening the facility.
Legislative history
Concerning his vote in favor of the slot machine bill (House Bill 1835), Denbo said, "Unfortunately, it could do some harm to our casino, but it's a matter of integrity and honor and you can't place a value on that."
Providing a historical perspective on gambling-related legislation in the state, Denbo talked of three issues that had been part of the discussion. "They (legislators) always referred to it as a 3-legged stool," Denbo said, "from the aspect that there were three different issues involved. Three different groups wanted some form of legislation. One was for dockside. They got that in 2002. We wanted the Orange County casino and that came through in 2003."
The other "leg" was the slot machine issue for the horse racetracks. Its backers, Denbo said, "supported our casino." He added that the support came "under the agreement that we would support them."
Legislators who pushed for slot machines in 2003, Denbo said, "could have stopped" the Orange County casino had they wanted. "When my bill went to the Senate, we were told that if there was a single amendment offered on the Senate floor, that the bill would be killed. The senators had an amendment ... to provide slot machines to the racetracks. They chose not to offer the amendment so our casino bill could move forward.
"I made an obligation to them to keep my word and do what Orange County people would want them to do. We honored the agreement that was made."
Further defending his vote, Denbo explained that the owner of the Anderson track, back in 2003, had a 15-year option to purchase the French Lick hotel. Denbo said that when Cook and Lauth decided to purchase the property, the Anderson track owner, "in order for us to get a casino, dropped out and gave up his option."
Denbo added, "It cost him $300,000 to do that. For me to tell the horse tracks that now you can't have slots, after we got what we wanted and especially after he did that for us, it just wasn't the right thing to do."
Impact on casino
Members of the Orange County board of commissioners and the Orange County Council met for a joint session last Tuesday and heard a presentation by Chris Leininger, chief operating officer at the French Lick Resort Casino. Leininger told the elected officials that more than a quarter of the casino's visitor base (of players who have signed up for player cards), to date, are in closer proximity to the racetracks than to French Lick.
Leininger suggested slot machines at the tracks, if leading to a loss of revenue ranging from 5 to 20 percent at French Lick, could result in a range of $700,000 to $2.8 million a year that wouldn't be available to local units of government. Orange County governmental units and a supporting organization that will award money locally draw benefits from the casino by receiving shares of the casino's wagering and admission taxes.
Denbo was in Indianapolis when the council and commissioners met last week, but joined the discussion via a speaker phone. Asked at the time whether he would vote against the proposal for slot machines at the tracks, he said, "I will, at all times, as has been my policy in the past, do my absolute best for Orange County."
Thomas Lamb, one of the county's three commissioners, said Tuesday, "It was basically presented to us that what would be done was what was in the best interest of Orange County, and I don't see how voting yes would be what was good for Orange County."
He said, "We are very concerned that it (slot machines at the tracks) will have an impact on the casino in French Lick."
He added, "It could be very hard to keep it going ... I don't think it will fail by any means but ... any profitability that the casino doesn't receive now due to the slot machines being in the horse tracks or whatever, that impacts everybody down the line."