Proposed Amendment To HB 1540 Would Delay Racino Table Games

Thursday, March 26, 2015 at 7:28 AM

By Mike Perleberg

Indiana State Senator Chip Perfect (R-Lawrenceburg), flanked by HB 1540 author State Rep. Tom Dermody (R-LaPorte), testifies at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday. In.gov image. (Indianapolis, Ind.) – Ohio County’s voice has been heard as members of an Indiana Senate committee have amended a casino gaming bill to protect – or at least delay harm to – the county’s casino interests. House Bill 1540 was the subject of hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee at the Indiana Statehouse on Thursday morning. The committee will wait until Monday to vote on passage of the bill to the full Senate, but a potential change to one of the bill’s key components is coming just in time for local riverboats and the communities which host them. The legislation proposes to allow Indiana’s two horsetrack racinos in Shelbyville and Anderson to swap out some electronic games for live table game dealers. Executives at Rising Star Casino Resort and officials with the City of Rising Sun and Ohio County feared that change in the state’s gaming law would have caused revenue to fall even farther at a riverboat that is already struggling just to make payroll. Committee Chairman Luke Kenley recognized the presence of Rising Sun officials, residents, and Rising Star employees who crowded the small hearing room and the hall outside. “We know they’re out there in force,” Kenley said. A new amendment considered for HB 1540 announced during the hearing would give a six year delay until racinos could seek to add live table games. The amendment allows the racinos to begin petitioning the Indiana Gaming Commission for table games starting in January of 2021. At that time, the racinos would have a three-day window to request table games from the commission. The request would be approved unless the commission vetoes the request within 10 days. The 2021 date is a direct nod to a veto threat by Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Pence has been on the record stating that he will veto any bill that he feels constitutes an expansion of gaming in the state. He will be out of office by 2021, even if he wins re-election in 2016. Dan Lee, CEO of Rising Star Casino parent company Full House Resorts, expressed thanks for the racino amendment. Lee became CEO of the company late last year. “Because of the competition it’s barely profitable at this point, then I was a little surprised by this bill and thought ‘My gosh this is going to sink us before we get going,’” Lee said. “I’m very appreciative of the five year delay because that does give me time to try to figure out how to try to turn the property around and it helps.” In defending Rising Star and the 600 jobs it provides in Ohio County, freshman State Senator Chip Perfect (R-Lawrenceburg), whose Senate district also includes Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg, indicated that lawmakers should consider jobs a higher priority that gaming revenues. “We’ve all preached about the importance of jobs in Indiana. Finally, when we get down to a level of competition, that’s the most important thing to protect. I think we’ve made some great progress with this amendment. I think we hope to continue to make progress, particularly for these smaller properties, and all the properties, to protect their jobs at all costs,” Perfect told the panel. One Rising Sun small business owner who testified said her business has seen a 40 percent reduction since the gaming downtown began in Indiana. She said another hit – a possibility with the addition of live table games at the racinos – would put her out of business. The legislation was also amended to cap the number of games at each casino at their highest level as of 2007 and makes permanent tax exemption up to $5 million in free play credits each casino can give to visitors each year. Local hold harmless money is also added to a study committee that will look at the impact of casino gaming revenues on host communities – like Rising Sun, Lawrenceburg, and Switzerland County – later this year. Even if the amendment is adopted, HB 1540 would still allow Indiana riverboat casinos to move their games onto land-based facilities. RELATED STORIES: HB 1540 Public Hearing To Be Held Thursday Casino Gaming Bill Passes Key Senate Committee HB 1540, Casino Gaming Bill, Passes House; Local Lawmakers Split Amendment To HB 1540 Saves Local Casino Revenues