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After two hours of testimony from roughly three dozen people, a committee chair opted not to advance a proposal to move a casino license from a southeastern Indiana community to a city 160 miles north—an idea that pitted neighbor against neighbor in the casino’s potential new home.
Under Senate Bill 293, an Ohio River casino license would move north from Rising Sun to New Haven, located near Fort Wayne. Moving from one city to another would only be permitted if operators meet certain requirements, such as getting approval from the Indiana Gaming Commission and drawing up plans to redevelop the newly vacant lot in Ohio County.
Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, pointed to strong opposition to the relocation and opted to pull the bill after listening to about 20 opponents. About a dozen people testified in support, with more supporters outside in the hall.
As the chair of the Public Policy Committee, he said he doesn’t intend to allow a vote on the bill this year.
Alex Stolyar—the chief development officer with Full House Resorts, the company seeking to relocate from Rising Sun to New Haven —said revenue at the southern Indiana location had plummeted since Ohio and Kentucky had legalized gambling efforts.
“We do have overwhelming public support. It is not unanimous; I won’t pretend that it is,” Stolyar said, sharing a letter signed by 2,743 community members in support of the relocation.
Tax revenues to the state totaled $2.3 million from Full House’s Rising Sun location last year, according to Stolyar, but could increase to as much as $65.4 million in New Haven, with much of that revenue coming at the expense of casinos in Michigan and Ohio.
Stolyar also vowed not to abandon either the city of Rising Sun or its employees, and Rising Sun public officials testified in favor of the legislation—noting that there were seven gaming facilities within a one-hour drive across three states.
The bill didn’t include a provision requiring local approval through a referendum vote. When legislators voted to relocate two northern Indiana licenses to Gary and Terre Haute, both had to pass a referendum. Counties with other casinos also had to vote to approve.
Bill author Sen. Andy Zay, following the bill’s withdrawal, said that it was still “early in the process,” and a referendum could be added—as could the chance for competitive bidding, meaning Full House could lose its license.
“There will be a number of other opportunities for this to be amended,” said Zay, R-Huntington.
Scandal delayed the Terre Haute casino license relocation project when regulators repeatedly flagged issues with operator applications. One former lawmaker, Rep. Sean Eberhart of Shelbyville, was convicted over a year ago for accepting a lucrative job offer in exchange for his legislative support.
More information on the deal
Moving casino licenses within the state must get the nod from the General Assembly and, in this instance, Full House would pay a $150 million fee to the Indiana Gaming Commission to transfer their operations in $30 million increments over five years.
Opponents with the Coalition for a Better Allen County shared personal stories detailing the destructiveness of gambling addictions and concerns that a casino would erode the small community’s family values.
Allen County’s Cathie Humbarger said that in a world where Hoosiers can order groceries online and schedule virtual doctor appointments, a physical casino appeared to be a poor investment.
“It seems to me that the brick-and-mortar casino business is the dinosaur of gambling,” Humbarger said.
Just one day before, a House panel advanced legislation that would codify iGaming, allowing Hoosiers to gamble from any location through their electronic devices.
Humbarger additionally questioned why Zay, and not a New Haven lawmaker, was sponsoring the legislation. Zay’s Huntington hometown is just over 30 miles from the proposed site, though both are part of the greater Fort Wayne area.
All three local legislators—Sens. Liz Brown and Tyler Johnson as well as Rep. David Heine—oppose the move, according to WANE. Zay countered by sharing his rural roots and pointing to his decade-long friendship with New Haven’s mayor, Steve McMichael.
Other testimony—which grew emotional at times—questioned the economic value of casino jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly pay for gambling services workers was $16.53 per hour in May 2023, below the regional median wage of $26.37 per hour.
But McMichael gave his full-throated support for the bill, sharing how he overcame his initial skepticism by visiting a dozen other communities hosting casinos across the state.
“I always asked the following question, ‘If you could make the casino go away, would you?’” McMichael shared. “Not a single community said they would make the casino go away if they could. I think that’s really important. They said that if there was a natural disaster or a need in the community, the casino is always the best corporate partner that steps up and rises to the occasion.
“That was true of every community that I spoke with.”
Other residents shared their hopes that the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” would bring much-needed growth and investment—perhaps attracting a second grocery story to the small city.
The bill could potentially be reassigned to another committee should Senate leadership choose to take that path. There are also gaming bills moving in the House to which language could be added.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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