INDIANAPOLIS — Tropicana Evansville formally received permission from the Indiana Gaming Commission to come ashore.
In a unanimous decision on Wednesday, the commission approved both Tropicana’s new Land Development Agreement with the cityof Evansville and the petition to move gaming facilities off the riverboat and onto land. Tropicana becomes the first casino in Indiana to take advantage of new laws passed last year allowing land-based gambling.
Tropicana General Manager John Chaszar said this is a huge first step for the casino.
“We’re very excited about this,” Chaszar said. “This is going to be a great, great addition to the city of Evansville.”
The plan to have a ceremonial groundbreaking in the fall of this year is still a go, with construction wrapping up late 2017 on the proposed 75,000 square-foot facility.
Chaszar, Senior Vice President Bill Murtha and Mayor Lloyd Winnecke all spoke before the Commission in Indianapolis. Winnecke said Tropicana is a great corporate citizen of Evansville and said the move to a land-based casino will be great for the city.
Winnecke also mentioned getting rid of the riverboat would open up the dock for the LST 325 to take a more central location along the river.
“One of the exciting components for our community is moving our LST 325 to a more prominent position,” Winnecke said.
To help facilitate the move, Tropicana has agreed to give the city $1 million.
Murtha said the total budget for the land facility is $50 million. The building will feature 45,000 square feet of gaming and will be built between Tropicana’s two hotels.
Chaszar said the ease of access is something Tropicana is ready for. He said currently it’s about a quarter-mile walk from Tropicana’s parking facility to the riverboat. The new casino will significantly reduce that.
Sara Gonso Tait, the Gaming Commission’s executive director, asked Chaszar if Tropicana had run any sort of revenue analysis for the land-based facility.
Chaszar said they hadn’t released any number publicly but said the casino thought revenue would go up.
“We wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t think there were going to be enhancements,” Chaszar said.
The next step for Tropicana will be getting permission from the City Council to vacate part of Third Avenue. The proposed building will reside where Third Avenue currently runs, and there are water lines, gas lines and other utilities that will need to be vacated and removed for the new building.
That meeting will take place in March.